Astros: Adding Marcus Stroman makes sense

If the Astros want to pay a high price for a starting pitcher, Marcus Stroman makes more sense that any other pitchers mentioned.

One of our site co-experts, Cody Poage, hit the nail on the head with his analysis of Stroman here. There is so much possibility on the marketing of his presence if he is added to the Astros. Not only that, he fits the mold of the pitchers now on the roster. Amidst the names being thrown around, Marcus Stroman has a certain sound to it the others lack.

The Intangible Value

Whenever I’ve watched Stroman pitch, he is all about standing out. He carries a great passion for the game and is a fiery competitor. This is an intangible quality not everyone has. Stroman would fit well with this Astros team because he carries a similar mindset. He’s an all-in, aggressive player. Scott Miller wrote about Stroman’s “sauce” in this article for Bleacher Report.

After a stellar performance in the World Baseball Classic, Marcus is growing into a pitcher with a high ceiling and even higher level of passion for the game.

The ROI of Stroman

If you’re a bargain shopper like me, you don’t like to spend a lot of money unless you’re getting plenty in return. Well, this same should apply to the Astros at the trade deadline. With all the talks of Sonny Gray, Jose Quintana, and Justin Verlander. The return on our investment (ROI) for these guys is not as promising as the return for Marcus Stroman. He is 8-5, with a 3.42 ERA, a 3.5 WAR with 107.1 innings pitched. He is outperforming the other pitchers mentioned in the Astros trade talks.

First, Stroman will be eligible for free agency in 2021. Stroman is currently being paid $3.4 million for 2017. Although he will deserve a salary increase, his value and control would be well worth the trade costs. Second, we must also remember that Dallas Keuchel and Charlie Morton are eligible for free agency in 2019, followed by Collin McHugh and Mike Fiers in 2020.

Next: Marcus Stroman is another name to watch

The Bottom Line

The tough thing about trades are you can never be certain of their outcome. The Astros know all to well of this, as the trades made in 2015 for Scott Kazmir and Carlos Gomez did not yield high returns at the end. All in all, if we trade some of our high-ranking prospects, Marcus Stroman is worth it.

***Statistics and information courtesy of Baseball Reference and thanks to CTH site co-expert, Cody Poage***