Houston Astros SS, 2012

From my last post, I went into small detail on why our top priority going into this offseason should be to resign Clint Barmes. With him resigned, he could be the placeholder until Jonathan Villar proves he is ready (acquired in the Oswalt Deal).


Even knowing how aggresive the Astros have been of late in promoting prospects (eg: Jimmy Parades, Jose Altuve, Jordan Lyles), I highly doubt that the Astros would consider bringing up Jonathan Villar to be the starting SS if Clint Barmes leaves next year. As he still has holes in his game, most notably being the high K numbers, and his spotty defense so far.


So, back on to the matter at hand, if the Astros don't resign Clint Barmes, I looked into a couple of options on the FA market.


These are the list of players who are eligible for free agency this offseason, and who I believe can play good enough SS until Jonathan Villar is ready -


Orlando Cabrera, 37
Jamey Carrol, 37
Alex Gonzalez, 34
Omar Infante, 30
Edgar Renteria, 35
Jose Reyes, 29
Jimmy Rollins, 33
Marcus Scutaro, 36 (6Mil Club Option, 3.5Mil Player Optionwith a 1.5Mil buyout)
Rafael Furcal, 34 (12Mil Club Option, with a 1.3Mil buyout)


Out of these players, Jimmy Rollins and Jose Reyes appear out of reach, due to the fact of how much they would cost, the draft picks we'd have to surrender, and their intentions of resigning with their current teams.


I believe out of the ones I listed, the ones I would hand the keys to our SS position full time would be Rafael Furcal, Marcus Scutaro, or Alex Gonzalez. I doubt the Cardinals will pick up Furcal's costly option, so he would be free to sign with any team. As for Scutaro and Gonzalez, all signs point to them going back to their teams due to there lack of depth at SS, or in the case of the Red Sox, not wanting to trade that depth with the injury risk of Jed Lowrie, or the unknown in Jose Iglesias.


We could also pick up Jamey Carrol or Edgar Renteria to possibly split time with our current Utility infielder Angel Sanchez.


Summed up, the only guy I would be comfartable with, that we could probably afford if Clint Barmes hightails it, would be Rafeal Furcal. If hes willing to come to a rebuilding team on the rise, I'd say go for it.


What are your thoughts on who we should bring in if Clint leaves?