Houston Astros Should Sign Curtis Granderson
In the aftermath of the penalties levied on the Houston Astros for the sign stealing scandal, the team made the right decision in hiring Dusty Baker as their new manager. Based on his experience, he was the best man for the job.
In San Francisco, he had to deal with the strife between Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent. That was nothing compared to Washington.
Baker took over for Matt Williams in the season after the Nationals saw Jonathan Papelbon choke Bryce Harper in the dugout. Even with the Nationals beginning the following season with both players on the roster, Baker would lead the team to consecutive NL East titles.
In sum, Baker can handle these situations adeptly. Arguably, there is no one better than him to handle him. However, seeing this Astros team in action recently, it may not be enough.
Public comments made by Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, and Justin Verlander were not well received publicly. From a player perspective, this is an organization flailing, and looking at their roster, they don’t really have a veteran who can help guide them through this process and to be a spokesman for the team.
This is a team who needs Curtis Granderson.
Between his time with the Yankees and Mets, he’s experienced it all. He was there for the drama between Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. To that end, he was also with the Yankees and A-Rod dealing with the Biogenesis scandal.
With the Mets, he dealt with the Matt Harvey drama. He was there for Scott Boras causing a stir saying the Mets should shut him down. He was there when Harvey missed a postseason workout and was suspended by the team for not showing up to the clubhouse.
There was the news cycles created when Harvey was sick, and there was Harvey’s struggles with TOS.
Granderson was also with the Mets when the team brought back Jose Reyes after his domestic violence suspension.
Overall, Granderson has seen just about everything in his time with the Mets and Yankees. Through it all, he has been on teams facing intense media scrutiny which only heightened with scandal and team drama.
There may not be anyone better able to help those Astros players through what they’re about to experience.
More than that, this is clearly an Astros team whose public image has been destroyed. They’re easily the most reviled organization in baseball and perhaps in all of sports.
Yuli Gurriel made a racist gesture purportedly mocking Yu Darvish during the 2017 World Series.
They traded for Roberto Osuna. It went lower when Brandon Taubman harassed female reporters following the ALCS. Now, suspicions of their cheating have been confirmed leading to the firing of Jeff Luhnow and AJ Hinch.
Every time an Astros player opens their mouth they come across as smug and out of touch. At the moment, none of their players appear likable, and those who once did, now look like hypocrites.
There is no one more genuine and likable than Granderson. He’s a three time Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award, and he’s won the Roberto Clemente Award for his extensive charitable work.
Granderson would go a long way towards restoring credibility in that organization, and it would go a long way towards helping those players who simply don’t have a clue. That’s important because they’re going to face more media scrutiny this year than they ever have.
With teams having an extra roster spot this year, it makes all the more sense. Keep in mind, Granderson showed last year he has something left in the tank with his still having sufficient speed to be backup outfielder and his having a .829 OPS as a pinch hitter.
Overall, the Astros need help getting their team through this season from a PR perspective. Hiring Dusty Baker was a very good first step. Now, they need to sign Granderson.
In light of Granderson’s integrity, popularity and maturity, there’s no question he’d be good fit on an Astros team reeling from distrust, immaturity, lack of accountability and cheating. This team needs a player leader like that.
However, Granderson wouldn’t be there on the baseball merits but rather as player-coach with proven pop off the bench and fine resume.
He would also take a spot away from 24 y.o. Myles Straw who had 1.1 WAR last season, is OBP, speed and defensive guy replacing Marisnik. Astros need true back up CF. Springer, Tucker, Reddick and Brantley are their outfielders.
Granderson’s foot speed has also declined to below average at 26.5 ft/sec which is same as Pete Alonso. And he hit like .183 last season with a .637 OPS.
Their 40-man roster is also full.
Like any 40 man roster, there’s players who can be moved off, and by no means would I suggest playing Granderson over young prospects. However, as the last man on the bench, he’s well worth a role, especially for a team who will need all the mental help they can get this year.
Totally agree he’d been fine fit on a team really needing a player known for integrity and respect for the game. There probably isn’t a better fit in that way.
However, Myles Straw has elite foot speed, 4th fastest in the majors, at 30.1 ft/sec
I don’t know Astros 40-man roster well enough to determine who they can bump off their 40 and risk losing. But from looking at their 40, it probably would have to come from their pitching. They’re pretty locked in on position players who deserve being there or are protected from Rule 5.
Would the Astros opt for Curtis over Straw? We don’t know.
Straw has tremendous skills, but the Astros may think he’s better suited to getting more playing time in Triple-A, but we can’t say that definitively.
@LongTimeFan – Solid points. There’s zero reason to hire Granderson as a player. He’s done. Time to move to coaching, if he’s interested. He’s likely to be a good one.
I strongly doubt Granderson would take offense to play for the Astros, specifically as an elder stateman to bring integrity to that clubhouse. He’d probably embrace it.
He would also be 5th outfielder. They already are locked in with four. – Springer, Tucker, Brantley, and Reddick.
I also think Granderson would welcome an opportunity to win a World Series