If you have young children you will understand the title of this.
Jeff Luhnow has commented that the self imposed team salary cap for 2013 should be between $50-60 Million. If this is true, what will the team look like next year? Eliminating Ben Francisco at $1.5mil and Francisco Cordero at $4.5mil (geez what a waste!!) the average salary of the 25 man roster will be roughly $480,000 per player. Not being a mathematician, I believe that is $12,000,000. So....who do they spend the $40,000,000 on?? (Round number taking into consideration any raises or salaries not known.) Here's a few ideas:
C - Mike Napoli - He can hit and he's a pretty good backstop. He has some power which the Astros do not have much, if any of. If you honestly think Castro can stay healthy your probably going to be disappointed. Napoli is 31 but that would give the Astros at least a couple of years to find or develop a young catcher, something we have needed since Ausmus left.
1B - James Loney - Decent power and a good RBI guy. Doesn't hit for a high average (.285 lifetime) but he's no Mendoza either. Solid defense at 1st and could hold it down until Singleton is ready in 2014-15. He's 31 but could stay with the Astros as a DH for a couple of years after Singleton settles in a 1st.
RF - Nick Swisher - See above (.254 lifetime) insert RF in place of 1B. Insert George Springer in place of Singleton. Swisher is also 31.
SP - Jake Peavy - Peavy is 31 but would bring the ace mindset to this team and veteran leadership for a young pitching staff. He has finally regained most of his form after struggling to come back from arm surgery. He's 9-7 with a 3.04ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 134 K's in 148 innings. There's a $22million team option for CWS to consider but they can buy him out for $4 million making him a free agent.
Obviously it would be contingent upon these players being willing to come here and the Astros may have to overpay some. But it's time for "J&J Demolition Co." to start building on this foundation they have recently cleared and bring in some players that can bring some hope back to Astros fans.
Poll
Would it be a good idea for the Astros to bring in some veteran players in 2013?
No! You can't get off the current path by bringing in veterans right now. Let the kids grow and take their lumps. When they start winning in 2014-15 the fans will all come back. (26 votes)
Yes! You need a solid mix of veteran leadership and young players to compete at this level. It will also give the fan base some hope. (40 votes)
Other (9 votes)
75 total votes




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