HOUSTON // The Houston Astros knew they were not going to win much this baseball season, so with an eye toward the future they cast off their few high-priced veterans before the trade deadline, slashing payroll and restocking their depleted farm system.
The Astros have shed almost US$40 million (Dh147m) from their opening day roster and have a payroll of just US$21.3m as of last week. Nine players on other teams will make more than that by themselves this season.
It was not a blueprint to win now.
Still, the new owner Jim Crane did not think it would be this bad - Houston has had the worst record in baseball for most of the season.
Things have devolved rapidly since their rebuilding effort began in earnest when the general manager Jeff Luhnow traded Carlos Lee on July 4. They are 6-36 since then.
"We made a lot of trades and once we made that decision — Jeff started moving some of the talent — we knew we might slide back a little bit, but we didn't think it would be this bad," Crane said.
After Lee, Houston shed the pitchers JS Happ, Brandon Lyon, David Carpenter, Brett Myers and Wandy Rodriguez before wrapping up a busy month by sending the third baseman Chris Johnson to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
"Some of them, had they gone beyond the trade deadline, we wouldn't have gotten much of anything," Crane said. "I think [Luhnow] got as much as he possibly could. [He] traded hard, and we did pick up a lot of great prospects."
Houston received 15 players in the recent trades, talent that has improved a minor league system many believed was among the worst in baseball heading into the season. "Our objective is to be competitive consistently as soon as possible," Luhnow said. "And being able to infuse as many prospects into our system as we were able to at the [Class] A and Double-A level, you don't have an opportunity to do that in the draft. You get a lot of new prospects in the draft, but they're usually at the rookie-ball level."
Of course, Houston's focus on the future did not just begin this season. Stars such as Lance Berkman, Roy Oswalt, Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn all have been dealt in the last two seasons. Of Houston's top 20 minor league prospects, 10 are a product of this year's deals along with the Bourn and Pence trades.
"Next year, with a lot of those salaries gone, we'll have some room to fill in some players when we see what we ended up with," Crane said. "You'll see some more players coming up at the end of the year, and we will continue to see who can play at the big league level."
TOURNAMENT INFO
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Regional Qualifier
The top three teams progress to the Asia Qualifier
Thursday results
UAE beat Kuwait by 86 runs
Qatar beat Bahrain by five wickets
Saudi Arabia beat Maldives by 35 runs
Friday fixtures
10am, third-place playoff – Saudi Arabia v Kuwait
3pm, final – UAE v Qatar
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
FIGHT%20CARD
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
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