THE ASTROS OPEN the year having been
semi-punished for perhaps the most elaborate
cheating scheme in baseball history. The
players’ system of stealing signs off a TV
screen and then signaling the coming pitch
by way of banging on a trash can not only
got their GM, their manager and two other
managers ousted, but also cost the franchise
$5 million while wrecking its next two drafts.
Nothing, though, happened to the players.
By offering them immunity in exchange for
testimony, commissioner Rob Manfred let
the sign-stealing system’s beneficiaries go
free, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of
fans and opponents, especially pitchers who
were hit hard by the Astros.
This will be the story of Houston’s season.It’s not third baseman Alex Bregman’s hunt
for an MVP, or ace Justin Verlander’s
ongoing defiance of age, or centerfielder
George Springer’s walk year or righty Lance
McCullers Jr.’s comeback from Tommy John.
It’s not a possible third pennant in four years.
The only thing people will be thinking when
watching the Astros is: Are they still cheating?
Owner Jim Crane did the best he could by
hiring Dusty Baker, 70, to manage. Baker has
had his finest years with veteran rosters, like
the one Houston now has. He’s also beloved
by the media. Most importantly, he wasn’t
there in 2017 and can honestly say he hasnothing to offer about what happened then.
The commissioner’s report noted that
Houston had no sign-stealing scheme in
place last year, so the team should be just
as good at the plate—maybe better, with
top prospect Kyle Tucker in the lineup and
a full season of slugger Yordan Álvarez at
DH. Though the pitching (No. 2 in ERA
among AL teams in ’19) will take a step back
with Gerrit Cole now in New York, it should
remain strong enough to carry the Astros to
the top of the AL West, with echoes of the
banging trailing them the whole way.| ALEX BREGMAN| 3B | Entering his 15th season, Bregman
remains baseball’s version of a pro-wrestling heel. Soon enough,
the Cooperstown electorate will decide whether to give the
11-time All-Star a pass for the sign-stealing scandal. (Pete
Rose’s unexpected 2025 induction is a bullish indicator, though
it’s balanced by the ongoing exclusion of Barry Bonds and Roger
Clemens.) But the fact that Bregman continued to mash in the
years that followed put any questions about his talent to rest.2030 PREDICTION
MOVING UP
KYLE
TUCKER
118 OPS+ | 0.8 WAR
Though Tucker
entered 2017,
’18 and ’19 as a
top-20 overall
prospect, he’s
had only 131
MLB at bats.
He should
take over for
Josh Reddick
in right.MOVING DOWN
JOSH
REDDICK
89 OPS+ | 1.2 WAR
After a ’17
breakout (one
apparently
unaided by the
banging), the
33-year-old
outfielder has
tailed off
(a combined
OPS of .723 in
’18 and ’19).ASTROS
GREG NELSON (SPRINGER); DAVID E. KLUTHO (VERLANDER)
This will be the story of their
season. The only thing people will
be thinking when watching the
Astros is: Are they still cheating?