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Astros News
The Astros have released a statement on the deaths of former teammates Luis Valbuena and Jose Castillo (Mission Control)
Astros players and fans have also had a chance to react to the tragedy (Click 2 Houston)
A tragedy made even worse by the fact that Valbuena was a man defined by his smile and love (La Vida Baseball)
But at least it looks like his killers will be brought to justice as four have been arrested in connection with the slaying (Sports Illiustrated)
The Hot Stove season has been taking off, but the Astros have been slow to join the party (KHOU 11)
But that could change as they pursue a starter and an impact bat at the Winter Meetings (Astros.com)
Which could include a signing of A.J. Pollock and the creation of one of the best outfields in the league (House of Houston)
And also makes this a good time to take stock of the offseason so far for Houston (Climbing Tal’s Hill)
As well as the needs of Houston and the rest of the AL West (CBS Sports)
Here are some notes about the moves that have been going on around the division (MLB Trade Rumors)
I missed this last month, but apparently Geoff Blum has started a podcast so go subscribe if you haven’t already (Bleacher Blum)
Around the League
Let’s have a look-see at baseball’s best free agents still on the market (Houston Chronicle)
Which no longer includes Nathan Eovaldi, who was never meant to mean as much as he did to the Red Sox (Call to the Pen)
Dual-sport sensation Kyler Murray has expressed interest in playing in both the NFL and MLB (Bleacher Report)
Which might mean that he’ll get one of those “catastrophic” analytic-driven contracts that Scott Boras hates (FanCred)
Which is a side-effect of the rise of technology and the new “Moneyball” (The Athletic, $$$)
The Mets’ new GM has a bold strategy, Cotton, let’s see if it pays off for them (New York Times)
Maybe Australian baseball wouldn’t take so long if they stopped horsing around (CUT4)
But at least they have some awesome cricket moves to watch while they wait (cricket.com.au)