A's acquire Jed Lowrie from Astros

[M2]

The question is for the Astros: "Will this guy be on our team when we're good?" Meaning, is this guy a Brandon Phillips or Joey Votto type, or is he a Ryan Freel or Ken Griffey Jr type?

That kind of thinking is what sends you into the basement for a decade. First off, you don't know who's going to be around a few years down the road. The Reds still have Bronson Arroyo. Brandon Claussen went belly up real fast.

The surest path to becoming a real team is to start acting like a real team. Otherwise you're forever aiming for three-to-four years down the road.

[Caveat Emperor]

I can get behind the idea of signing FA's in order to keep from rushing prospects. But to just sign them to avoid looking like an embarrassment...nah.

So declaring that "We're rebuilding" should give an ownership group carte blanche to trade off every piece for minor leaguers and field a roster of all guys playing at league minimum?

How is that fair to the rest of baseball? Other owners have to sell tickets to games featuring players who would be bench guys on any other team, and teams in competing divisions trying for Wild Card spots or homefield advantage have to contend with the fact that the AL West has a legitimate doormat sitting at the bottom of their division.

In the NFL, the Astros would have a salary floor to meet. In the EPL, the squad would be a surefire bet for relegation. In baseball, they get people defending their right to be cheap and place an inferior product on the field because they can't be bothered to spend like a small market team, much less a major market side.

[mdccclxix]

That kind of thinking is what sends you into the basement for a decade. First off, you don't know who's going to be around a few years down the road. The Reds still have Bronson Arroyo. Brandon Claussen went belly up real fast.

The surest path to becoming a real team is to start acting like a real team. Otherwise you're forever aiming for three-to-four years down the road.

Arroyo was a clear keeper after 2006, more so than Jed Lowrie, I'd say. If the Astros are wrong on Lowrie and other decisions on who to keep, they will fail at rebuilding. The Reds did a great job keeping who they needed to 2008 and beyond. And here we are. Time will tell if the Astros know what they're doing. I'll say again, I agree it's probably unwise to forgo FA opportunities that may exist in the name of dogmatic rebuilding. This talk of trading their 3 million dollar man seems evidence they may have gone over the crazy side.

[M2]

I'll say again, I agree it's probably unwise to forgo FA opportunities that may exist in the name of dogmatic rebuilding.

We agree on the core issue. Beware of dogma.

[_Sir_Charles_]

So declaring that "We're rebuilding" should give an ownership group carte blanche to trade off every piece for minor leaguers and field a roster of all guys playing at league minimum?

If the team doesn't think said player is going to re-sign or is a part of their plan going forward...sure, why not.

How is that fair to the rest of baseball? Other owners have to sell tickets to games featuring players who would be bench guys on any other team, and teams in competing divisions trying for Wild Card spots or homefield advantage have to contend with the fact that the AL West has a legitimate doormat sitting at the bottom of their division.

I'm pretty sure that the Astros ownership couldn't care less how the other teams feel about it. Their main concern should be the best interest of THEIR club...not how it's viewed by other teams. Keeping Wandy when he's not going to re-sign or when his value is diminishing does nothing for that team especially when all it does is add a few more wins to the total and STILL keeps them in last place. If they can trade off a valuable asset that doesn't currently change the fortune of the team for a piece that very well could down the road...you do that deal.

In the NFL, the Astros would have a salary floor to meet. In the EPL, the squad would be a surefire bet for relegation. In baseball, they get people defending their right to be cheap and place an inferior product on the field because they can't be bothered to spend like a small market team, much less a major market side.

I could get behind a salary ceiling and floor. I'd have no problem with that. But the difference here is I don't think this is about the money. I think it's about getting as much talent in the system as possible. The Astros haven't shown an unwillingness to spend money...but time will tell with the new owners. IMO, no amount of spending was going to make a difference with the state things were in at the start of last year (and maybe slightly before). They needed to build it up from the ground up. That means the farm. But the only way they were going to be able to rebuild that farm was by dealing assets not in their future plans.

I think we're at the point to agree to disagree IMO.

[_Sir_Charles_]

I'd say a trade of Jed Lowery was signs of a team going 100% prospects. I reviewed the roster again this morning, that is an embarrassment. There are a lot of ways to skin the MLB cat, but they are chasing the cat's tail on this one.

As for FAs, the Astros could do something like the Reds did signing Dave Parker in 1984 after two years of embarrassing teams. They gotta start somewhere, not just continuing to deal anybody with value for prospects, throwing them all up on the wall, and hope they stick.

Lowrie is a questionable player. He's got a big injury history and SS is not really something they want to invest long term in considering their top prospects. They saw a chance to bring in several solid prospects for a rather big injury risk. I don't see much wrong with that one. Peacock and Stassi are VERY solid prospects. That's a pretty good haul IMO.

I could agree with them signing a big FA for the fans. But it's got to be the right one, right? Lohse isn't it. Bourn reportedly isn't interested. Oswalt either. There's just not a good selection right now that I can see. Should they have moved sooner? Valid question. But it still begs the question...is it the RIGHT guy to sign?

Some solid guys they could've gone after....
Ryan Dempster (35...should be ripe for a decline)
Zack Greinke (ridiculously high contract demands...pointless for a last place team I'd think)
Josh Hamilton (tempting, but the drug/alcohol issues and the contract...two pretty solid reasons for the Astros to stay away)
Dan Haren (solid choice IMO and missed opportunity)
Cody Ross (another solid choice considering their situation)
Nick Swisher (over-rated IMO, but a do-able pick)
BJ Upton (Meh)
Shane Victorino (double meh)

There were certainly some possible guys they could've gone after...then again, maybe they DID. Regardless, this was one of the weakest FA classes I've seen in a while.