Do you think that the Astros could afford to sign him this offseason? Was just going over the 2013 Free agent class and his name was the one pitcher that would intrigue me. Would be pretty hard to get him to come to houston i would suppose. But with his Exp on this young staff. Would be a pretty good 1 2 punch of Sanchez and Harrell. Heard that he was being scouted the other day by the Astros scouts. What do you think? And what kind of Contract would he demand? Would take over nicely for Wandy. Has a career ERA of 3.83.

He would be almost perfect IMO. I don't think he would want to play for us next season though. Can't really blame him either.

1. Next year he'll be 29. So he'll probably be about Wandy's age when we're next competitive.
2. He'll be expensive; $10 million a year at the very, very least, and $12-$13 million isn't out of the question. We'd have to pay a premium as well as no SP in their right mind would sign with the Astros if they have other suitors; I.E. we'd have to overpay for him.

I'd pass. We're not looking for a solid #3 to fill out a competitive rotation; if anything, we just need some decent, stable, cheap inning-eater vets to bridge the gap.

If the Astros were to get an arm or two, who among the 2013 FAs would you suggest:

This list is of the more reasonable, available free agents:

Scott Baker (31 - 9.5m club option),
Joe Blanton (32),
Kevin Correra (32),
Jorge De La Rosa (32),
Jeff Francis (32),
Gavin Floyd (30),
Edwin Jackson (29),
Francisco Liriano (29),
Paul Maholm (31 - 6.5m club option),
Daisuke Matsuzka (32),
Brandon McCarthy (29),
Anibal Sanchez (29),
Ervin Santana (30 - 13M club option),
Chien-Ming Wang (32)

With his injury history, I wonder if we could get Brandon McCarthy; if we could get him on an affordable two-year deal with some options, he could rebound and have a healthy season, soak up some innings, and be a nice trade chip at the deadline. Joe Blanton could be another good one, he could be poised for a bounce-back season next year.

I think Blanton would be a good fit here. He can rack up innings and pitch okay and not be too expensive.

No quality free agent who wants to win before he is too old to walk would sign with Houston at this point. We needed to rebuild, but, gutting the franchise of all major league talent in the process will cripple this team for at least 5 more years.

That's why Blanton might be a fit; he's not having a great year results-wise, so it's possible he could come here ala Brett Myers looking for some redemption when contenders pass him up. Second straight year with a BB/9 under 2.00, and 3.42 xFIP; he's an excellent rebound candidate.

I'd stay away from anyone named Anibal. Might as well get Lupe Sanchez. She's cheap.

With his injury history, I wonder if we could get Brandon McCarthy;
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His injury history is precisely why we don't need to sign him. We need to get inning eaters first. If they produce good enough to warrant a trade, that is icing on the cake, but not the sole reason for landing an arm.

We probably don't have a great chance landing anyone entering FA around their prime.

Derek Lowe Joe Saunders, Kyle Lohse are probably the market we are looking at.

We could probably land 2 of those guys for short term low $$$ contracts and have a great chance at 400 IP for the season.

After more and more of your posts, it is apparent, the Houston Astros are not the team for you....It is just a bad match.... obviously in your life everything just goes accordingly to plan, no setbacks/adjustments...

Therefore, some people just are not made out to be a fans for a team like the Astros...there are two ways of looking at: either the team does not have what it takes to have you as fan or you don't have what it takes to be a fan of the team...taking this into consideration, this is where you belong:
<http://www.forums.mlb.com/ml-yankees.

Sanchez would be a great signing, but I worry he'll be out of our price range. Blanton seems more realistic at this point.

Stop being so subtle, BFAM.

It is not in my nature to be rude and direct, I leave that up to the amphibian.

Disagree. If someone is injured, there will always be a Galarraga or whoever we can use. We need to be looking for guys who are buy low, sell high guys that have a chance of rebounding into good trade chips at the deadline.

Ben Sheets look what he has done.

I'm all about buying low, but high injury risks aren't worth it. We need innings eaters. It is no good to be paying some one millions of dollars while he camps on the DL, and McCarthy is about as prone as they come. It is a recurring shoulder injury. It isn't like a different injury every time (i.e. Lowrie)

Yeah, but look at the recurring injury pitchers and what they have done. It isn't pretty.

Also Ben Sheets isn;t going to come close to 200 IP, he was a mid-season pick up. We need arms on opening day.

It shouldn't always be about trade chips. If a good deal comes along then great, make it. But you don't have to pick first every draft to have a successful rebuild.

Jair Jurrjens and Mike Pelfrey could also be interesting possibilities if they are non-tendered. Jair has been inconsistent to say the least but potential is there. Pelfrey is done for the year after have surgery but also has potential. If either improves given opportunities they could have here both could garner a decent return or possibly be kept around as both are still in their 20s.