Astros fans won't like reading tea leaves on Jim Crane's latest quotes

At the end of the day, the Houston Astros' offseason hinges on the whims of owner Jim Crane. If the front office is given the ability to spend beyond the luxury tax, this could be an exciting offseason and the team could get some real upgrades.

If Crane reverts back to his previous stance that he is extremely not comfortable exceeding the tax threshold or handing out long-term contracts, then this could be a pretty disappointing lead up to the 2025 season.

For some fans, it was welcome news that Crane went on the record to say that the Astros have the "wherewithal" to match their spending from 2025.

That may seem like good news, as that would mean that Houston is willing to exceed the luxury tax.A closer look at his comments, though, suggests that fans may not want to hold their breath for the Astros to go wild this offseason.

Astros fans shouldn't expect Jim Crane to open his wallet this offseason

Here is the problem: yes, there are situations where Crane could be convinced to spend this offseason. In fact, the Astros' pursuit of a reunion with Alex Bregman could be an example of a case where he would feel comfortable doing so. However, right before Crane talked about the Astros' "wherewithal" (whatever that actually means), he also said, "It just depends on what players are available. It’s pretty evident what needs we have. We want to try and field the best team we can without going crazy."

Funnily enough, Crane's hesitancy to take some chances in free agency is likely a product of some of his own mistakes when he was stuck running point on personnel moves. Crane and his inner circle were personally responsible for handing out the disastrous contracts to Jose Abreu and Rafael Montero, so one wonders if the lingering payroll problems from those deals currently hold influence his thinking regarding which players are actually worth pushing his chips in for.

Crane knows Bregman and what he offers to the club because he has had a front-row seat to the spectacle, so perhaps he is willing to break his own rule about giving out deals beyond five years in one particular case. However, that same level of familiarity does not exist for other free agents, and Crane clearly is skeptical of bringing in external upgrades unless they are sure things. Frankly, those don't really exist in the game of baseball. Juan Soto is the closest to a sure thing in the pool of free agents, and it is safe to say that Crane isn't going to immediately throw $600+ million Soto's way. Even he has defensive warts and lofty financial goals that are driving his negotiations.

Can the Astros spend a bit this offseason? Of course they can. In fact, most teams in baseball have the means to spend if they want to. However, Crane's rigid specifics of how much players are actually worth to him still remain an obstacle to overcome, even if his recent comments imply that Houston has some money to spend this offseason, given the right opportunity.

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