Pudge was HORRIBLE last year on the Yankees, in 96 abs he batted .217/.257/.323. Although for the season he was .276/.319/.394, a little more respectable especially at catcher, but really not that good.
However, the Astros are used to mediocre catching. They are actually used to absolutely pathetic catching. They have moved on, but Brad Ausmus was probably the worst regular in baseball the last few years, I haven't checked but I doubt this is even debatable. Jason Varitek is a poor hitter that plays because of his supposed good defense and impossible to adequetly qualify leadership. Ausmus was basically the same idea, except significantly worse, like infinitely worse. Put it this way, last year Varitek was worth 1.2 wins above replacement, the last 3 years combined Ausmus was worth 1.2 WAR. Comparitevly, Pudge last year was worth 1.9. So, for only 1 year $1.5 it's hard to argue with the Astros picking up Pudge. He's older and not that great, but it's still a really cheap price for a startable catcher, as debatable as it may be.
The only problem here is what does this mean for J.R. Towles. Towles started off last year in the majors but was terrible in 146 abs. He had a .157 BABIP, so it's pretty likely he's a little better than the line he showed .137/.250/.254. Towles is still just 25 years old and hit .304/.370/.500 in AAA last year. He has struggled so far in spring training, but he's still young enough to not give up on. If Pudge is just $1.5m as a just in case policy or as a backup than fine, but Towles should be given a chance to start, and a long leash if he struggles. There is little risk involved here so I can't say it's a bad deal for the Astros, it's actually far from it. But it could turn to a bad deal if it means Towles chances are done. Hmm, should the Yankees try to trade for Towles?
Ok, so onto the other news. MLBtraderumors reports that the Astros are close to signing Pedro Martinez. Last I heard Pedro wanted a deal similar to John Smoltz, $5m with incentives. Considering the market, it's hard for Pedro to be picky, but we don't know yet for sure if he has signed, and if he has for how much. Pedro hasn't been healthy the last 2 seasons, only throwing 137 innings, and when he has pitched he hasn't been all that good. I suppose it still is Pedro Martinez, but with the signing of Pudge and now rumors about Pedro, you figure the Astros wasting a little too much time/money on guys that are just a tad past their primes.
There has been great bargain bin shopping this offseason and many taems have benefitted, I guess the Astros are just looking at the wrong bin; Pudge, Pedro, Hampton. On paper their roster doesn't look exciting or all that good even. I doubt they go to the playoffs but I also doubt they are as bad as you'd expect them to be by glancing at the team. In August it's likely the Astros are a game or two around .500 and within 5-6 games of the division or wild card. With that said, I don't think Pedro is the guy that will put them over the top, or help them even get that far, so why even bother?
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