Him being considered for a starting OF positon would certainly muck up things the Astros are going to do. Maybe muck up is a bad term, affect might be better. If Pence has shown enough to get a chance to win a spot in ST, that would mean the Astros don't need to get an OF (ala Lee or Soriano) in the FA market. Unless of course, they trade one away.
I can see the Astros trying an OF of Scott, Taveras and Pence. I am not sure they WILL do that, but I can see it as possible. But only if they address their hitting issues by adding someone to the infield. Since 2B isn't likely to change until Biggio gains 3K, and Berkman isn't likely to lose his gig at 1B... that would mean changes to 3B, SS or C. Ausmus is still under contract and isn't likely to be going anywhere, and besides there just are not any "wow" FAs that make you want to dump him for them. Trades are always possible, but at this point, you are probably better off getting Catching prospect than getting a good catcher in trade.
So that leaves 3B and SS... well we have beat the who Ensberg/Huff and now Ramirez thing to death. I think the best move is probably to sign Ramirez (if you can). So if you do that, Huff is really no longer needed unless Scott and/or Pence is not your expected opening day corner OFer. But since I am going on the assumption that both are going to be, just for this thread, then Huff is out. Is Ramirez enough offense to add? I guess that depends on who you might get to play SS.
Keep in mind Everett is a hell of a good defender and you might want that if Ramirez's range isn't good (although I think he is very good at what he can get to... now). But if we still want to improve the offense some more and again keeping our OF intact. What about trading with Baltimore for Tejada... Yeah, I know, tried that before and the cheat'n bastards couldn't figure out whether to shit or get off the pot, but maybe during the off-season things might work different. Offer them Ensberg, Everett and Albers. That gives them a replacement for Mora (who I think is a FA and is planning on leaving), a replacement for Tejada, and a young pitcher with alot of promise. I would not give up Hirsh, and I don't think I would offer much more. So basically give them a take it or leave it offer... "You have 3 days to make a choice, after that we go in a different direction". If they agree to the trade and Tejada agrees to the trade (I think he has a no-trade). That might be the end to the Astros' off-season, other than re-signing some key players, ala Pettitte.
If they say no, you make a big run at a pitcher... if you can't improve the offense, better improve the pitching. This might even be the better first move after getting Ramirez, but I was looking for a way to unload Ensberg and keep Lamb.
You can still trade for a pitcher, but what pitcher of a quality level like Tejada is as a hitter can be had? Willis maybe? but not sure who all is willing to part with much. And I don't see the Astros killing themselves to trade away pitching prospects... Not with Pettitte and Clemens potentially needing replacing.
So I came up with a roster that was pretty nice, but does hinge (pitching wise) on re-signing Pettitte and getting Clemens mid-season (again), otherwise it probably takes a major step backward, and that is not something I want the team to do.
The only pitcher of real big value on the FA market that I think Houston could land is Schmidt, just cause I don't think Zito will go any where other than NY/Bos or one of the LA teams.
And before you bash, keep in mind this speculation was based on keeping the OF of Scott, Taveras and Pence as your starting OF. Obviously you can add OFers if you so choose, but I would really like to see Pence get a chance this year, and Scott showed enough last year to make me want to see if he can do it again... but at the same time, not relying on him being "that" good again.
So my final line-up was:
CF: Taveras (R)
LF: Scott (L)
SS: Tejada (R)
1B: Berkman (S)
3B: Ramirez (R)
RF: Pence (R)
2B: Biggio (R)
C: Ausmus (R)
