Friday Morning Hot Links

The Hot Stove is truly, literally, upon us. 

*The Astros signed Former Astros Great Johnny Sh Jason Castro to a 2-year deal. Allegedly it's for $7m total, with incentives up to an additional $2m based on the games he catches.

Castro ranks #1 on the all-time FanGraphs Astros Catcher leaderboard with 10.8 fWAR. He's seven home runs away from tying Alan Ashby for the most homers by an Astros catcher. Friend of Astros County (FOAC) Daren Willman notes that Castro ranked in the Top 20 in MLB for Hard-Hit rate over the span from 2019-2020, and he is a good defensive catcher, and will be a valuable backup in managing the pitching staff for Machete. I can't be mad at this move, but if I'm Garrett Stubbs, I'm livid. 

FanGraphs' Ben Clemens on the Castro signing. This is a really good in-depth article about what Jason Castro brings to the Astros.

*Carlos Correa said - after getting sent to an arbitration hearing - he wants to be "an Astro for life." We also find that the Astros basically were out on Springer as soon as he turned down the Qualifying Offer, which is very cool.

*It is very early in the offseason but Jake Kaplan took Crack 1.0 at the Opening Day roster. (Please let me be clear: I am not accusing Jake Kaplan of "taking Crack." I am simply saying that he took a stab at what the Opening Day roster. Please let me be clear: I am not saying that Jake Kaplan stabbed somebody. I am saying you know what never mind. Jake Kaplan stabs people while smoking crack.)

*Chandler Rome says Michael Brantley's return is a good counter from the absence of Springer's production.

*Baseball Prospectus has their 101 Prospects list. It's paywalled, and I don't have a subscription (I have to draw the line somewhere), but I have deduced that Forrest Whitley is 69th and Jeremy Pena is 82nd. Pena is also MLB.com's pick for Best Defensive Prospect.

*Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio (and Andre Johnson, Guy V. Lewis, and Bill Yeoman) were elected to the Houston Sports Hall of Fame.

*Former Astros Great Joe Musgrove has elite penmanship.

*SI: It's beyond time to change the treatment of women reporters.

*Because there was no other reason to occupy their time, the Secret Service did a 9-month investigation into John Mulaney because of a joke on Jimmy Kimmel's show.

*Oh hey I was on KHOU's very own Daniel Gotera's podcast on Thursday.

*A Musical Selection:

Thursday Morning Hot Links

Well that was a heck of a day. And I hear we have a new president? I was too busy heaping burning coals upon mine and my family's heads. 

We got followed up by the news of Springer's departure with a rumor from reporter Hazel Mae at 10:51am that Michael Brantley was in agreement with Toronto for a 3yr deal of unknown amount. This is approximately where I started to slander James Click and the entire Astros organization. However, at 12:14pm Jeff Passan said that the Blue Jays were in on Brantley but a deal wasn't finalized, one minute after MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reported the same thing.

But at 3:02pm Mark Berman reported the Astros had agreed to a 2yr/$32m deal with Brantley, precisely the contract he signed before the 2019 season. McTaggart notes that the deal isn't finalized just yet.

Carlos Correa is happy. Lance is happy. Machete is happy. Enoli Paredes is happy. Hell, even Buster Olney is happy!

*Jake Kaplan: The corner outfield spots are set.

*Chandler Rome: The person who could stand to benefit the most from the re-signing is Kyle Tucker.

*McTaggart: Relive Springer's five best moments as an Astro, if this is something you want to put yourself through.

*FanGraphs' Dan Szymborski does the hard math on what the Blue Jays can expect over the next six years.

*This MLB.com reporter says that the Angels and Trevor Bauer seem like a likely fit.

*Tom Verducci: Remembering 1970's Exhibition to Honor MLK.

*Looking for a book? Wired has ten books you should read this winter.

*I like reading about boxing more than I like watching boxing/MMA. How ten weeks in Portugal changed Conor MacGregor.

*A Musical Selection:

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

First: RIP Valentin Jalomo.

*Toronto was able to surpass the Mets' bid (6yrs/$120-$125m) and ink George Springer to a 6yr/$150m deal last night. Never mind that I said in the Chronicle back in October that 6yrs/$150m would get a deal done with Springer, though it was believed earlier this month that he was looking for a deal in the $175m range. The Astros were apparently never really engaged in bringing back Springer. It was just last Friday that "GM" James Click said, regarding Springer and Brantley, "we're gonna go where the market dictates sometimes and sometimes we are gonna push the market and make it come to us." Apparently the market dictated that the Astros were going to go the Extreme Shift route and play with a one-man outfield. The Astros do not spend in free agency, that's just a fact. 

So what have the Astros lost, besides the spark plug for the best lineup in franchise history? 

*At 26.6 fWAR, Springer was 0.2 fWAR behind Terry Puhl for the 5th-highest fWAR for an outfielder in franchise history. 

*His 174 home runs are 3rd-most for an Astros outfielder, and 5th-highest for an Astro.

*His 134 wRC+ is 2nd in franchise history for an Astros outfielder who played more than 500 games for the team. 

*His .491 SLG and .852 OPS are both 6th all-time in franchise history.

*His 39 leadoff home runs are 2nd in franchise history, 14 behind Hall of Famer Craig Biggio which Springer could have passed by, I don't know, May? 

*His 19 postseason home runs are most all-time, and his 2017 World Series Game 5 home run that came minutes after his diving misplay in centerfield remains my favorite home run of all time. 

Despite me being mentally prepared for Springer's departure back in early November, the Astros also lost a whole lot of their heart and soul. It's entirely possible that Springer just didn't want to play in Houston, and I can get it. I'd been hearing whispers that Springer wanted to be closer to home in Connecticut and now he can live in Toronto, play in Boston and New York 20-ish times a year. Obviously summers in Toronto are preferable to summers in Houston (if you're from Connecticut). 

And let's not discount how fans around baseball have signed a personal services contract with Amnesia when it comes to badass members of the 2017 Astros coming to their team. Not getting booed everywhere has some non-monetary advantages, I would imagine. 

*Oh, and it's entirely possible that Michael Brantley follows Springer to Toronto. This is Drake's fault.

*Since the Astros gave Springer a qualifying offer, they'll get an extra pick after the 4th Round of the 2021 Draft, if that's something that matters to you. 

*Chandler Rome: A face and voice of the Astros' golden era is gone.

*Toronto is scheduled to play at Minute Maid Park May 7-9. 

*At some point soon I'll take a look at possible replacements, but not today.

*Former Astros Great Chris Devenski signed a deal with the Diamondbacks.

*Astros prospect Freudis Nova is trying to get to Houston this year.

*Former Astros Great Joe Musgrove is ready to bring a World Series to his hometown team.

*I read Maria Konnikova's book "The Biggest Bluff" last month and enjoyed it immensely. Here in Wired, she talks about poker and the psychology of uncertainty.

*Outside: A Nepali team just made the first winter summit of K2.

*I wrote about a fake plot to kidnap nuns and force them into sex slavery, Samuel Morse, the "Harper" in "Harper Collins Publishing," an inspiration for Scorsese's "Bill the Butcher," and the 1856 elections, if that's something you're interested in.

*A Musical Selection: