Barret Loux
by IronM21 on Aug 31, 2010 10:01 PM CDT
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Its September 1st (well not quite yet), come on down Mr. Loux...
Since the Diamondbacks "found" something wrong with Loux's arm, MLB granted him free agency as of September 1st, which is tomorrow and it would be great if the Astros could sign a local kid to add to a growing farm system.
Adding a 6'5", 215lb. RHP with command of four pitches (fastball and changeup being his best pitches) to the farm system that Wade and Heck have already been adding lots of talent to would be another great move. Obviously the question is whether or not what the Diamondbacks found was legitimate or if there is indeed something wrong with Loux's shoulder/arm. It seems to me that MLB was pretty quick to grant free agency to Loux and it was reported that he passed two independent physical examinations. I'm sure with getting a new GM between the draft and the signing deadline as well as money troubles may have contributed to the D'backs not signing Loux (although they did use some of that saved money to sign other picks before the deadline).
It was reported that Loux was willing to sign an under-slot deal with the D'backs after he failed his physical and it has been reported that he just wants to play ball. I sincerely hope the Astros are at the front of the line to check out Barret and deem him physically able to pitch, sign him and give us yet another player to add to a growing farm system.
Not to jump the gun too much, but if everything checks out with Loux and he does sign with the Astros, it could mean that Lyles, Loux and Keuchel could all move up to the majors by the beginning of the 2012 season. I have to hand it to Ed Wade and Bobby heck, they definitely have added some talent (albeit not blue-chip, can't miss talent, but talent nonetheless) to what was a wasteland of a farm system 2 1/2 years ago.
In case anyone has forgotten, here is a scouting report on Loux and what he could potentially bring to a team.
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I really hope to see the Astros sign him and we may have the edge since his hometown is in the Houston area. Although, I haven’t seen anything about who his favorite team is and if he was an Astros fan growing up. I have a feeling that Loux won’t sign tomorrow, but will probably happen within a week or two. Although, to be honest, I have no idea, just me guessing.
It will probably be a pretty lengthy process with Astros reviewing reports and his medical records. And then negotiations on the contract, and then probably a very in-depth physical.
Couldn’t teams of already gotten a head start on that? Or did they have to wait?
by Timothy De Block on Sep 1, 2010 7:21 AM CDT up reply actions
I think Loux is a guy that Heck loves too and I think Wade trusts Heck a lot. So, I don’t see Wade as a barrier and think he will do what he can do to get Loux in our system. Your right, it’s going to be whether Drayton pony’s up to pay the kid. But, to be honest I don’t think it’ll be an issue. David put up a write-up several days ago about how much we spent total, which is around $10.5 M which is what we said we would spend on the draft only. I don’t think that the extra $2.5Mish spent on Ovando was taken from the draft fund. We had over $1M on the table to Jacoby Jones and over $1M on the table to Adam Plutko up until the trade deadline. That money combined would have added up to the high end of the orginal draft budget. Ovando was already signed at that point, so we still have over $2M available still if Drayton allows it. From what I’ve been reading, that may be plenty to get Loux. He was going to sign for around $2M with Dbacks but most are saying that he will sign as a FA for much less because of the injury. There will probably be a bidding war that will drive the price up but still not approaching his original bonus. He has no option other than to sign since he can’t go back to school now so I really doubt it goes that high.
It all depends on what the medical evaluation says about his risk. The amount of money that the Astros are willing to pay should depend on the risk. If that works out, and Loux is willing to accept that amount from the Astros, great. If the Astros think he is asking for too much money based on their evaluation of his medical risk, then the team shoulld pass.
Sorry to say it but...
Dont get your hopes up. Some team will pay him 2.5-3 mill and it wont be us. And yes, well regret it down the road. This farm has improved, yes, but not to the point that it needs to be – not with Tal and Drayton behind the money decisions.
He won’t get that much. Theres no way. There is no suggested slot for him because he is a FA. There will likely be a bidding war, but it won’t drive up that high. He has no option but to sign with a team so its going to start low. He has no leverage in contract negotiations what so ever other than this team offered this much but that offer won’t be that high either because they know he has no leverage.
Barret Loux
Barret, my nephew, is a high character individual and the Astros should make sure they sign him. He has been contacted by 16 Major League teams!
We'd love to have him!
Hopefully he does sign with us, but 15 other teams will be hard to compete with. Maybe he does give the Stros the edge though, that’d be great.
Not a slam dunk
I’m not expecting Loux to sign right away, but I do expect him to sign fairly quickly to maybe get onto a team’s fall league team.
I can’t see Loux signing for more than $2 – 2.5 million considering the fact that he doesn’t have leverage to go back to school, he could pitch in the Independent League, but I can’t see him taking that route and having to re-enter the draft next year with questions maybe still surrounding his health or the chance that he may not perform well.
Here’s hoping he signs on with the good guys and adds another quality arm to the farm system.
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