Some things to talk about while I learn about a great BBQ-related charity...
1) BP on Aiken situation
This is just an excellent article from Nick Faleris at Baseball Prospectus on the Aiken negotiations. It lays out all the principal players, talks about each players best alternative to negotiations and posits where the Astros really went wrong. It's a great, great take that I don't feel like excerpting from, since you really need to take the time and go through it all.
The one part of the calculation that Faleris misses, though, is the 1-2 pick next year. It's not a big deal, but i believe Houston views that pick and its accompanying bonus pool addition as more valuable than another college-bound pick later in the draft. They didn't want just any player for cheaper than Nix. They wanted those specific guys. And, when that didn't work out, they were okay with taking the money next year so they can try it again, maybe landing some less risky players.
That doesn't make their strategy correct. It doesn't mean they didn't make mistakes in their approach to these negotiations. I'm just saying that the fallback of 1-2 next year made a difference in how they viewed their options outside of negotiations.
2) Where will the money go?
Speaking of Aiken, Jim Crane said the Astros were looking to use the money left over from the draft in other ways. How can they do this? Obviously, they can't spend it on drafted players. They also can't really spent it on international free agents, because there's a slotting system there too and penalties for exceeding it.
Could they bring in a player with a big contract by trade? It's possible, but not likely, since that would also require spending money in future seasons when the budget hasn't necessarily been set.
That means there aren't a ton of options for where to invest it, outside Taco Tuesdays for the guys in the Nerd Cave for the rest of the season. But, there is one more option.
Houston could target a Cuban free agent with this money. There are a few guys floating around, who could become eligible to sign soon but who aren't currently vetted by Major League Baseball. If the player is 23 and has played professionally for five years, he's exempt from the IFA signing pool, meaning teams can spend as much as they want on him. That's what happened with Jose Abreu.
Could Houston take that $9 million or so and turn that into a Cuban free agent? Something worth keeping an eye on over the next few months as Alfredo Despaigne, Yasmani Tomas and Jozzen Cuesta.
3) Dexter Fowler's house
Though we'd all like to see him back on the field after being sidelined by that pesky intercostal strain, Dexter Fowler and his wife provided a rare glimpse inside their new Houston-area home, through this video from Coldwell Banker. Partnering with MLB, the series looks at baseball players' homes and gets into the story of their family.
For Fowler, that included finding a space where they can support a newborn baby in a new environment. Oh, and the Fowlers literally moved while Dexter was on a road trip. After undergoing a move myself in the last six months, I have much respect for Aliya Fowler.