MEET THE NEWEST ASTRO
Need a player, get a player. Obviously, it isn’t that easy, but the Astros, at times, make it seem that way.
While they don’t always nab the hottest name trending on social media, they tend to bring in players who contribute.
Michael Brantley, professional hitter, is the latest addition to the list.
With $137 million already committed to the 2019 payroll, the Astros didn’t hesitate to ink Brantley to a two-year contract that will pay him $15 million a year.
Bryce Harper, a 26-year-old power hitter with an MVP award on his resumé, was the only free agent outfielder better than Brantley.
Once again, the Astros have set the pace in displaying a willingness to do whatever it takes to field a winning team. They also keep showing that they are smart enough to know what that is.
Those attributes have helped make them one of the elite teams in Major League Baseball and a desirable destination for top players.
Brantley said Houston was at the top of his list. Luhnow said the Astros have admired Brantley’s game for some time.
He will add to a lineup that
the Astros believe is as deep as any team in baseball.
“We have a special team and he makes us better,” manager A.J. Hinch said.
Don’t worry. This organization doesn’t make a lot of Carmelo Anthony-type mistakes.
Of course, MLB and NBA have vastly different operational guidelines. There is far more room for error in baseball than basketball, which has half the roster spots and significantly fewer contributors.
Still, Luhnow is batting around .850.
With Brantley, he has gone deep once again.
Brantley, a 6-2, 200pound left fielder, is a 31-year-old three-time All-Star.
He brings a solid, consistent, lefthanded bat to the middle of the Astros’ lineup. Not a lot of pop (his career-high for home runs is 20), but very few swings-and-misses.
Last season, he ranked second in all of baseball in strikeout rate, and only once in his career (2011) has he struck out more than 75 times in a season. Eight of the nine Astros who played in at least 100 games in 2018, struck out at least 79 times. Yuli Gurriel (63 strikeouts in 136 games) was the lone exception.
The Astros became playoff contenders by building a strong farm system. They won a World Series title by making key veteran additions: Verlander, Morton, McCann, Reddick, etc.
Brantley should be another significant an addition. He is a difference maker.
#Neversettle was a catchy slogan for team trying to recapture the magic of a World Series ride, but that could have been the team’s theme since Hinch came aboard in 2015.
Since, the Astros have the third-best record in baseball, with only the Cubs (387) and Dodgers (379) topping Houston’s 374-win total, which ranks just ahead of three of MLB’s storied franchises, the Red Sox, Yankees and Cardinals.
When he came to Houston from St. Louis, Luhnow often talked about a process that will produce long-term success. It would take time he said.
As soon as the Astros got into the mix with the big boys, they started moving pieces like the big boys do.
Not necessarily championship-or-else – they don’t trade prospects all willynilly – but the bar is set at a championship standard.
“That takes a lot of effort behind the scenes from the front office to keep the bar pretty high, to make big moves to make yourself a little bit better, a little bit better,” Hinch said. “There is such a small gap between winning the World Series and not.
“We sign players that make us better. Or trade for players that make us better.
“We’ve got a really good thing going. In order to keep it going, we need moves like this when the opportunity presents itself. … Our front office is bold.”
Smart and bold is a good combination.