Houston Astros: 3 reasons to pry Salvador Perez away from the Royals
By T.A. Mock
The Houston Astros have a void at the catcher position to fill. Here’s why they should attempt to fill that void by prying star catcher Salvador Perez away from the Royals.
After winning the World Series in 2017, the Houston Astros didn’t get complacent. They promptly proceeded to go out and add two relievers in Hector Rondon and Joe Smith, who had some struggles but ultimately were great additions.
Later in the offseason, the team pulled off a blockbusting trade when they dealt to get Gerrit Cole from the Pirates, for what was a very cheap price. Cole vastly exceeded expectations posting numbers that should get him top ten Cy Young votes.
Even as the season progressed, the Astros still didn’t get complacent. They made three trades in the month of July in order to improve the team to make a major playoff push. They added relievers Roberto Osuna and Ryan Pressly in addition to catcher Martin Maldonado.
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Maldonado helped solidify the catching position for the Astros after Max Stassi fell off after his early season surge and Brian McCann was on the DL with a knee injury. Maldonado was very, very solid. He provided some surprising offense but really brought defensive excellence and quickly earned the trust of the pitching staff.
Maldonado is now a free agent, free to sign anywhere he pleases, as is McCann after the Astros opted to not exercise his team option for next season. Stassi had a good month or so of offense but never fully gained the entire pitching staff’s trust.
Thus, the Houston Astros have a void to fill at catcher. There are free agency options such as Yasmani Grandal and Wilson Ramos who could fill the void. JT Realmuto is probably the most popular option as he is arguably the best offensive catcher in the game. However, the best guy for the job may be Salvador Perez from the Royals, here’s why.