Climbing Tal's Hill

Time to use the benefit of hindsight to reevaluate the Gerrit Cole trade. Now that Gerrit Cole‘s time in Houston has come to a close, it’s a good opportunity to take a look back at the trade that brought him to the Astros in the first place. On January 13, 2018. Jeff Luhnow sent Joe […] Astros: Revisiting the Gerrit Cole trade from 2018 - Climbing Tals Hill - Climbing Tals Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

The Houston Astros have agreed to a one-year contract with starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. skirting the arbitration process. The deadline for teams and players to exchange salary figures prior to arbitration isn’t until Jan. 10th, but the Astros and Lance McCullers Jr. won’t have to worry about that. They have agreed to a one-year […] Astros and Lance McCullers Jr. agree on a deal avoiding arbitration - Climbing Tals Hill - Climbing Tals Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

In this installment of the Players You Forgot Were Astros series, we look at longtime MLB closer John Franco. The Astros have had their share of strong closers over the years, from Billy Wagner to Dave Smith to Joe Sambito to Brad Lidge to Jose Valverde. But they’ve also had some guys who were closers […] Players You Forgot Were Astros: Closer John Franco - Climbing Tals Hill - Climbing Tals Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

The Winter Meetings have come and gone and the Astros are still looking for that starting catcher to fill a void. Is a Jason Castro reunion in the works? The offseason hot stove has been active this year and the Winter Meetings were no exception. Big names like Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon, and Stephen Strasburg […] Astros: A reunion with catcher Jason Castro a possibility - Climbing Tals Hill - Climbing Tals Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Well, the Winter Meetings are over and the Astros seemingly didn’t accomplish much.  With an emphasis on seemingly, let’s just talk about that for a minute. At least one report says that the Astros made an outstanding offer to Gerrit Cole. Purportedly, he was offered seven years at $250M. That’s $5M over the Yankee’s initial […] Astros: Winter Meetings – The silence is killing me (v. 2.0) - Climbing Tals Hill - Climbing Tals Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

The Astros lost three players to the Rule 5 Draft. Three Astros minor league players were selected by other teams in the Rule 5 Draft on Thursday. The selecting teams will pay $100,000 to the Astros but must keep these players on their major league roster all season. If they do not, they must offer […] Astros lose three minor league players to Rule 5 Draft - Climbing Tals Hill - Climbing Tals Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

There are rumblings that the Astros are exploring the possibility of trading Carlos Correa. What would the Winter Meetings be without rumors of a potential blockbuster trade? There’s no indication such a trade is close, but Ken Rosenthal has reported that the Astros are at least exploring the idea of trading star shortstop Carlos Correa. […] Astros: Trading Carlos Correa could solve multiple problems - Climbing Tals Hill - Climbing Tals Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Every year the hottest fandoms are ranked in the FanSided 250, in everything from entertainment to sports. The Astros fandom was the 3rd highest MLB team! The FanSided 250 (formerly called the Fandom 250) is an annual listing that rates the top fandoms. All kinds of categories are included, from the overall #1 ranked Marvel […] Astros fans ranked third in MLB category of the FanSided 250 - Climbing Tals Hill - Climbing Tals Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Gerrit Cole was only with the  Astros for two years, but somehow it seems longer. As Cole goes to New York with a record-setting deal in hand, we thank him. We were lucky to watch and cheer for a pitcher that set records right before our eyes, a raw talent that only comes along every few […] Astros: Saying goodbye to Gerrit Cole after record contract with Yankees - Climbing Tals Hill - Climbing Tals Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

What if the Astros had drafted Kris Bryant in 2013 instead of Mark Appel? One of the more interesting bits of news coming out of the Winter Meetings is that the Cubs are exploring potential trades for star third baseman Kris Bryant. The news poses an interesting question — what if the Astros had drafted […] Astros: What if they drafted Kris Bryant instead of Mark Appel? - Climbing Tals Hill - Climbing Tals Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

The 2020 payroll of the Astros has skyrocketed since last year. With empty spaces on the roster and needs yet to be filled, it’s only going to go higher. The Astros payroll has increased by roughly $30 million over what it was at the end of the 2019 season. Houston was a little over $8 […] Astros: Payroll has soared and the roster still has big holes - Climbing Tals Hill - Climbing Tals Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Is no news really good news? Will the Astros make more headlines this offseason? As is usual for the offseason, it’s been pretty quiet on the Astros’ home front. First off, we’ve not heard much from either Astros GM Jeff Luhnow or AJ Hinch this offseason, which could be good and bad. Second, last offseason, Alex […] Astros and Winter Meetings – The silence is killing me! - Climbing Tals Hill - Climbing Tals Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

The Winter Meetings are underway, but the scuttlebutt on Gerrit Cole doesn’t look good for the Astros. Fans all over the game of baseball are wondering if star free agent pitcher Gerrit Cole will leave the Winter Meetings with a new contract. It’s certainly possible, as the bidding seems to be ramping up. But the […] Astros Winter Meetings: Gerrit Cole rumors point to Yankees, Angels - Climbing Tals Hill - Climbing Tals Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

The Astros are still in need of a starting catcher and the Chicago Cubs are looking at trading catcher Willson Contreras. Could this be a viable solution? The Winter Meetings have arrived and the Astros still have a vacancy for an everyday backstop. According to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, inside sources say the Chicago […] Astros: Houston may be exploring trading for catcher Willson Contreras - Climbing Tals Hill - Climbing Tals Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

The Astros will be looking to fill a coaching position to replace first base coach Don Kelly, who moves on to Pittsburgh to be the Pirates bench coach. According to Adam Berry, a beat writer for the Pirates, Pittsburgh has reportedly hired Don Kelly to become their new bench coach. Kelly spent just one season with […] Astros: First base coach Don Kelly hired as Pirates bench coach - Climbing Tals Hill - Climbing Tals Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More