Houston Astros: Five reasons Lance Lynn works as a trade option
Half-a-season makes him cheaper
With the high asking price for these cheap multi-year contracts from talented but questionable pitchers, it may be better to get someone who will only be around for half a year to keep the farm system strong. The asking price for a Gerrit Cole or a Sonny Gray would cost us two top 10 prospects at least.
Lynn would be a rental which means the Astros would probably need to part with a top 10, maybe top five prospect, and then a lower level prospect or two out of their top 30 prospects list.
If the Astros dealt Teoscar Hernandez or if necessary Derek Fisher alongside Brady Rodgers and someone outside the top 30 for Lance Lynn I would be ok with that. Kyle Tucker is on the way and could even get a call-up in September with the way he is playing.
So we still have a top outfield prospect if Fisher or Hernandez are dealt. We keep Francis Martes, David Paulino, Forrest Whitley and Franklin Perez on top of that? Sounds good.
Year to year consistency in baseball is extremely difficult.
The Astros are in a great position to win THIS year. If they trade for Lynn, that enhances their chances of winning this year. We saw after 2015 that anything can happen from year to year as the Astros took a step back in 2016 before taking this gargantuan leap forward in 2017.
Year to year consistency in baseball is extremely difficult. The Chicago Cubs have gone from 100 win World Series champs last year to below .500 this year at the break. The San Francisco Giants went from making it to the National League Divisional Series last year to the worst team in baseball this season.
When you have the opportunity to win it in a given season, you go for it. To think that you’re somehow going to have a nine player all-star team because all your prospects are going to pan out is foolish to think at best.
Lance Lynn has the 12th best ERA in the National League at 3.61. He has a better ERA than all the other trade targets on the market including Jose Quintana, Gerrit Cole, Jacob DeGrom and Sonny Gray. And he won’t cost nearly as much in terms of prospects.
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