Houston Astros: Winter Meetings Day Two Recap
By Yoni Pollak
Another day at the winter meetings and another day the Astros haven’t made a move. That’s not something to worry about if you’re an Astros fan. There are still two days left and GM Jeff Luhnow has acknowledged he’s talking to many different clubs.
While the Astros have been relatively quiet, the rest of the MLB sure had some fun yesterday.
We saw free-agent signings such as Ben Zobrist to the Cubs. We saw Shelby Miller get traded to the Diamonbacks. We saw some more Chris Davis rumors. However, what we didn’t see is much on the Astros front.
The Aroldis Chapman has yet to be resolved as more details start popping up. Major League Baseball is investigating the alleged allegations of domestic violence against Chapman. Until then, it could be a few weeks before anything happens regarding Chapman.
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If there’s one player that took over Astros twitter yesterday it was Jose Fernandez. It’s unclear if the Marlins are totally sold on trading him but other clubs believe the Astros may be a mystery team in trade talks for Fernandez. However, Evan Drellich (Houston Chronicle) reports the Astros aren’t that team.
As Drellich noted, it’s easy to say the Astros would be interested in any big-time starting pitcher on the trade market, given that the Astros are looking for pitching and have a strong Minor League system to trade from. Still, it doesn’t seem like the Astros would be willing to give up the farm for Fernandez as of now.
This hasn’t been reported anywhere exceptin Chicago, but it appears the Cubs may be interested in Carlos Gomez if their other moves don’t pan out. We haven’t heard Gomez’s name on the trade block, but the Astros have lots of outfield depth so it wouldn’t be too shocking to see them trade Gomez or look to move Jake Marisnick or Preston Tucker.
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Coming into the winter meetings, relief pitching seemed to be priority number one for the Astros. Through two days we have no answers on that front, but things can come together quickly in Nashville.
The NY Post reported that the Yankees are interested in Astros SP Vincent Velasquez. He could be the main piece in a package for closer Andrew Miller. The Astros had interest in Miller during free agency last year and have interest in trading for him this winter. He’s owed $27 million over the next three seasons and is probably the best available closer behind Chapman.
If they can’t acquire Miller, expect the Astros to continue to target closers such as Mark Melancon, as well as Drew Storen and the duo of Ray’s relievers, Brad Boxberger and Jake McGee.
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