Houston Astros: An early look at who the team should/n’t keep in free agency
By T.A. Mock
Making the H home for the foreseeable future
The two players below are not the flashiest players in this articles nor on this team. However, they are both incredibly solid contributors who should be able to be had at very reasonable prices. Keeping these guys adds depth to the team and won’t block players for an extended amount of time.
Charlie Morton
Charlie Morton has had the best two years of his career these past two seasons as a member of the Houston Astros. He has completely reinvented himself in his age 33 and 34 seasons. He stuff is extremely filthy and he adds a phenomenal pitcher in the middle of the rotation.
Morton is considering retirement due to having young children. However, he wants to come back for a season or two it makes too much sense to not reunite, for both sides. Morton will stay on a perennial contender and the Astros have a great 3rd or 4th starter.
Martin Maldonado
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Martin “Machete” Maldonado has been an incredibly underrated addition at the trade deadline this season. The Houston Astros knew they were getting an ace defensively and he has provided just that. However, he has also been very solid offensively for the Astros.
He has already set a career high for RBIs this season but it gets better than that. Expanded over a full season, he’s on pace to set a career high in nearly every offensive statistical category including home runs, RBIs, hits, runs, average, and many more.
He’s steadied the catching position for this team and learned the pitching staff really well, really fast. Retaining him for next season is essential as the staff loses their most trusted option behind the plate in McCann. Maldonado will be a great pairing with Max Stassi and will help the club prepare for Garrett Stubbs in a season or two.
Next. Three bold playoff roster predictions. dark
Like I said at the beginning, it’s really hard to lose some of these guys and it’s easier to say goodbye to others. Regardless, Jeff Luhnow and the Houston Astros have some tough decisions to make and it’ll be interesting to see how it all shakes out.