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December 10, 2025 • 12 mins
The Athletic's Chandler Rome caught up with The A-Team on Tuesday to discuss the latest Astros news from the MLB Winter Meetings. Plus, the Red Sox are showing interest in one of the Astros' top sluggers. Would they really consider moving him?
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Transcript

Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Football at five today will be Baseball at five today
live from.

Speaker 4 (00:04):
The Winter Meetings.

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Is Chandler, Roma of the Athletic Covers The Astros of
Major League Baseball, joins us from there where they've just
concluded the Major League Baseball Draft lottery. The Astros had
an infinitesimal chance of moving up to the number one spot.
They will draft seventeenth go along with their twenty eighth selection.
We'll see what Dana Brown and crew can do with
that and the money that goes along with it. But
most people are paying a little bit more attention to

(00:26):
player movement here at the Winter Meetings Chandler, I imagine
some of the moves today caught a little bit of
your attention, but more likely the conversations you've had with
people in the organization, Joe Spoda and Dana Brown among them.
What's your idea of what they think they actually can
get done for this team from a starting pitching standpoint
moving forward.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
Yeah, I think they're very confident that they've got some
frameworks of some potential trades that excite them. You know,
I reported last night that that Shane Bose is somebody
that is near the top top of their list. As
a target. That doesn't mean they're going to get him.
That doesn't mean it's closer it's done. Shane bos is
in demand from a lot of teams, but you know,

(01:09):
identified a couple of guys that the Rays like in
their system on their major league roster. But it's not
just him. You know, they've got They've got irons in
the fire with a couple of other teams. It make
no mistake like most of their activity this offseason is
going to come be a trade. I do not envision
them signing in a substantial free agent deal. I don't

(01:30):
envision them playing at the top of that market. This
is going to be a trade first off season, and
it's you know, it really started here. Everything I have
heard from both you know, their employees and just people
around the league is that, you know, the Astros focus
really is in the trade market, and it is for young,
controllable starting pitching, So guys that not only will affect

(01:53):
the twenty twenty six Astros, but you know, maybe two
and three years down.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
The road, would you say that the likelihood of the
Astros getting one of those pitchers would be including a
player that played for them more. Their uniform is a
major league talent from needing to use that as part
of a deal.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
Yeah yeah, I mean, obviously, Jake Myers is the name
that's getting thrown around a lot right now, and he's
being heavily talked about. You know, there's a lot of
teams that are interested in him. But you know, actually,
something I'm writing today that has really kind of crystallized
here is, you know, listening to Joe Spotted talk yesterday
kind of about his initial tentative plans for the roster,
it's becoming clearer and clearer that like, it's not going

(02:34):
to be feasible for them to carry both Christian Walker
and East Sad Paratus on this roster, just for a
number of reasons. You know, Joe said yesterday that he
wants Jordan Alvarez to d H the majority of the
season this year. He intimated strongly that Josel tub will
probably spend most of his time at second base with
those two spots filled. Like, I don't see a world

(02:56):
in which they can give both of those guys, you know,
regular every day at that. So I just look reading
between the lines, judging what everyone has to say, it
would seem to me that this only increase the likelihood,
in my opinion, that one of Estoc Paradis or Christian
Walker gets moved. Estoc Paradus has been coveted right now
by the Red Sox. They really really like him, and

(03:18):
that's something that you know, there's certainly some momentum there.
I'm not saying it's close, not saying it's done, but
certainly that they've talked to the Red Sox about Estock Paradus.
There's some other things that they're talking about, but that
that is crystallized to me that, yes, Jake Myers is
certainly a guy that could be moved. But it's coming
clearer and clearer that they're gonna have to solve this
infield logjam by by moving one of those guys as well.

Speaker 3 (03:39):
Do the trades that you're referencing do they excite you
as much as they excite the astros?

Speaker 2 (03:46):
I mean, I'm probably not the person asked that, Like,
I don't really care. Very few things excite me, right,
you know, but look, but but I think, you know,
I think they can do a lot worse than like
I mean, Shane bos Is really I'm going off of
like what I've reported, right, Like Shane Bo's is like
former first round pick, Like it's top of the rotation

(04:07):
style stuff. And I think, you know, as you're going
to see with some of the other stuff that maybe
starts to come out of guys they are targeting guys
are talking about, you know a lot of these guys.
At first glance, maybe fans will be a little tentative
because they're not going for the established guys because all
the establaiged guys are in free agency, all the established

(04:28):
guys that have done it and that have that track
record and that they just they're not going to play
in that pool. So they're going to rely on their
pitching development infrastructure. They're pitching infrastructure to you know, if
they get some of these young starters that they want
to come in here and do what they've done with
a ton of guys, which is make them better, improve
the things they do, and turn them into a better

(04:51):
version of themselves. So I think quite frankly, you know,
there if some of these trades do go through, I
don't think it's going to be guys that going to
excite maybe the casual fan, but I think it's certainly
it certainly moves that you know are contingent upon them
continue to do what they do best, which.

Speaker 4 (05:09):
Is developed pitching.

Speaker 3 (05:10):
That's kind of Wex and I were talking about that.
You know, that is their mo from a pitching standpoint,
at least over the years. Is you get guys sometimes
to come in here and you you don't think that,
you don't think anything of the deal because it's not
a sexy name or whatever, and then the next thing,
you know, like even but even like with Kokuchi, I
feel like that was he was more of an established name,

(05:32):
and yet he had his best tenure I would say
in years, if not ever, with the Astros because of
what they're able to do with that staff.

Speaker 2 (05:41):
Yeah, no, it's I mean there's a lot of validity
to that. You know, again, if they are not going
to pay the price for a frontline starter, Like there's
a reason that like these frontline starters and these established
guys get to free agency and that they command so
much money because there's more certainty there, there's more assurance
there because these guys have done it before. When you

(06:02):
get guys in trades, it's always it's always kind of
a crapshew. But I think the Astra is actually I know,
like the ashers trust there. If there's one thing with
this franchise that you can trust it is their ability
to develop, identify, and enhance pitchers. And so I think
they're really going to rely on that as they're going
through these guys. They're looking for guys with, you know,

(06:24):
certain tendencies and characteristics that they like, certain profile they
think they can help improve. And I think that's gonna
be a big deal going forward.

Speaker 1 (06:32):
Do you think Josh Miller, their returning pitching coach, and
Ethan Katz, their assistant pitching coach, can help developed and
enhance Justin Verlander next year?

Speaker 2 (06:44):
I mean, if Jim Crane wants it done, sure, yeah,
I think you know. Look, everyone, it's it's kind of
funny how this is like taking all the life of
its own when like Justin Verlander was literally at Dyke
And Park last year with the Giants and outside the
third base dug out and said, oh yeah, I'd love
like I'm always open to coming back here. I want
to come back here, like said, like, when the Giants

(07:06):
offered me this contract, I called Jim Crane to basically
see if you could match it. And at the time
Jim told him that they couldn't do that. So it's
not as if you know, we're making this up a
report like this is Justin Verlander has said this, and
like we know how close he and Jim are. He
and Jim Craine are very close. It's one of these
things where, you know, I think if the price is right,

(07:28):
I think if both sides agree that the price is right,
then I think it certainly could happen. But again, Justin
Berlander had a very nice season last year and they
had fifteen million dollars last year, and I'm gonna guess
he's not going to want a decrease of that salary,
and certainly not a market decrease of that salary. And
from what I understand and talking to people and you know,

(07:50):
seeing kind of what they are willing to spend if
they had to get into the free agent pool, you know,
I'm not sure that they could They could match that
right now, they can match what Verlander wants, but you know,
we'll see if the off season goes on, you know,
as we get in late January, if Justin Grander doesn't
have a team yet, then maybe they could.

Speaker 4 (08:08):
Go back to that.

Speaker 2 (08:08):
But yeah, I think that's much more of a Jim
Crane direct negotiation.

Speaker 4 (08:14):
On that one, are Whitney and Kate as close as
Jim and Justin?

Speaker 2 (08:19):
I don't know. I feel like I'm leaving. I feel
like I'm really putting myself in a bind. If I
even answer this question with any sort of definitive answer,
I'm just gonna go with I don't know. On that one,
I have seen I have seen both of them, you know,
walking around the ballpark in certain times together. Don't know
if that means anything, but I'm sure they've I'm sure
they've shared a meal.

Speaker 4 (08:39):
How about that.

Speaker 2 (08:40):
I'm sure they've shared a meal together.

Speaker 1 (08:41):
Talking with Chandler Rome of The Athletic covering Major League
Baseball and the Houston Astros obviously for you guys and
joining us here on the eight team from the Winter
meetings in Orlando, three free agent Astros are certainly going
to help direct the path of whatever happens in free
agency with Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, and from ber Valdez, What,
if anything, do you think the impact is for where

(09:02):
they might go and the money they might sign for
for fromber Valdez, the fact that Dylan Sees got the
deal he got from Toronto, and in Kyle Tucker's case,
the deal that was made today between the Phillies and
Kyle Schwarber at five years, one fifty where it might
send them and what type of contract they might look at.
If you feel like those deals impacted.

Speaker 2 (09:20):
It, well, I don't really think the Schwarber deal impacts
Tucker that much, just because Schwarber's very much more of
a DH only he plays. He can play some first base,
can stick them in one of the corners. The DH
like Kyle's certainly a five tool player. He provides defense.
I don't equate that contract to maybe what Tucker is
going to do, but I think certainly Doan cees his contract.

(09:42):
He was probably very happy today he agreed to that deal.
I think Fromber was probably like the second happiest person
when he probably saw that, because look, that sets the market.
They are. Fromber and his representatives are going to try
to get something close to that. Will they get it,
I'm not sure, but I think that one is probably
a more app parallel of like this is what this

(10:03):
is what you can expect with Fromber. So I will
say that Schwarber and Tucker do have the same agent,
which is kind of interesting. So maybe in that aspect,
like maybe that does something, But I'm not. I don't
think those two correlate just because of you know, the
different positional versatility. What else Tucker brings other than just
his offense?

Speaker 3 (10:22):
Your gut instinct tells you that Fromber is pitching where
next season?

Speaker 4 (10:26):
I think it was the coolest stuff.

Speaker 2 (10:29):
I'm gonna say Baltimore Orioles, just because you know, Mike,
Michaelias and Signy Dol running their front office. They're they're
familiar with Fromber Mike and Sigg had kind of gotten
out of have they had gone to Baltimore by the
time Fromber really you know, blossomed into his own. But
there's some familiarity there. They need, They have made no

(10:51):
bones about it. They need a top of the rotation
style ace. They have money to spend that. That to
me would seem right now, if he asked me my gut,
that would be it. But I could see, you know,
I could see the Mets being a player. I could
see the Cubs maybe being a player. You know, I
don't know, but I'm right now I'd probably say the.

Speaker 4 (11:11):
Worlds really really quickly.

Speaker 1 (11:13):
Did you have a favorite Scott Boris pun from the day.

Speaker 2 (11:16):
So I didn't listen to the I wasn't in the
scrum because I've just made like I needed to use
my time better and like I know, the Astros aren't
signing any Bories clients. But the the Terek, the Saber,
the Saber proof Tiger and about Arrek Scuball and it's
a mystery machine without scoobs and Tiger Town. That was

(11:38):
That was legendary. What a what a what a prolific man?

Speaker 4 (11:41):
Where do you say about Ranger Swarz again? He was
rangeris yeah.

Speaker 2 (11:44):
In the posts, armed and armed and Rangers in the postseason.

Speaker 4 (11:48):
Unbelievable. Chandler, you're the best.

Speaker 3 (11:50):
We love how you answer all of our questions, including
the ones that force you to be diplomatic every time
that you come on, and we appreciate you taking the time.

Speaker 4 (11:57):
Have fun out there, all right, Thanks us. Chandler.

Speaker 3 (12:01):
Rome of the Athletic here on Sports Talk seven ninety
always brings the goods. We'll discuss that and some shams
rumors next.
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