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| Courtesy of CBSSports.com |
Houston Astros continue making moves
On Monday morning, the Houston Astros announced the trade of center fielder Dexter Fowler to the Chicago Cubs. In exchange, the Astros receive third baseman Luis Valbuena and starting pitcher Dan Straily.
One and done for Fowler
With an outfield group that has since increased over the off-season (see: Quick hit: Evan Gattis trade) and a near certain free-agent exodus following the 2015 season, Fowler quickly became an expendable trade piece. Fowler, who was acquired prior to the 2014 season in trade with the Colorado Rockies, never lived up to the light-to-moderate power or penchant to rack up triples as he had in years prior, due to a back injury that cost him over a month of playing time. His less than stellar defense also made it easier for the club to part ways, as they have Jake Marisnick and George Springer (originally drafted as a CF) who can manage center field. Finally, it was reported that he was seeking $10 million dollars in arbitration, which would have been a questionable increase given his sub-par 2014 season, potential for injury, and defensive miscues. Although the rest of the outfielders do not collectively scream out Gold Glove group, the remaining salaries among this group do not come close to Fowler's impending 2015 salary, much less his 2014 salary either, and money certainly talked in this deal.
A look at the newest Astros
This offseason, the Astros set out to make improvements to nearly every area of the roster. We have seen improvements to the bullpen, at the shortstop position, and in the power department. With this trade, the Astros add depth at third base in Valbuena, and bring in another starting pitcher in Straily.
Valbuena can play both third base and second base. With second base locked up by a certain 5'5 hitting machine, it is clear that Valbuena will continue to see the majority of his playing time at third base. The acquisition of Valbuena also shows that the Astros are nearing a breaking point with current third baseman Matt Dominguez (a guy whom I have supported on at least one episode of the Q&A podcast), who has frustrated everyone with two seasons of inconsistency at the plate and below average defense. Last season Valbuena matched Dominguez in homeruns in fewer games played. He also produced higher totals in doubles, walks, batting average, OPS, and OPS+ over Dominguez. Defensively, Valbuena was only marginally better than Dominguez based on errors committed, though Valbuena's nine errors were committed in nearly 100 fewer chances at third base (my loyalty to Dominguez at third base apparently knows no bounds...must remain impartial). Clearly, Luis Valbuena will be brought in to compete with Dominguez for the starting job at third base while the team allows Colin Moran to continue to develop in the minors.
Straily is a 25 year old starting pitcher who has pitched only one full season (2013 Oakland Athletics). The right-handed starter was traded from Oakland to Chicago last season as a part of the Jeff Samardzija deal. As a member of the Oakland Athletics Straily fared well inside Minute Maid Park. Though he only has two career starts inside the ol' Juice Box, Straily has 18 strikeouts and 5 earned runs allowed in a total of 13 innings. While that is a very small sample compared to the rest of career outside of Minute Maid Park, Straily has shown some strikeout potential at his new home ballpark. However, being shipped to and from the minor leagues is something that he has had to deal with over the past two years, so he has yet to string along consecutive successful seasons. Hopefully he will get a chance to somewhere to pitch a full season and let the strikeouts pile up.
Final Take
The Astros set out improve multiple spots on the roster this offseason. We have seen improvements to the bullpen, at shortstop, and in the power department. The remaining targets for the team were adding depth at third base and adding another starting pitcher. While this is by no means a sexy move, the Astros accomplished both tasks with this deal. Valbuena and Straily should make decent additions to the roster, though not enough to hang your hats onto a playoff run. Plus we saved roughly five million dollars, so there's that.
A look at the newest Astros
This offseason, the Astros set out to make improvements to nearly every area of the roster. We have seen improvements to the bullpen, at the shortstop position, and in the power department. With this trade, the Astros add depth at third base in Valbuena, and bring in another starting pitcher in Straily.
Valbuena can play both third base and second base. With second base locked up by a certain 5'5 hitting machine, it is clear that Valbuena will continue to see the majority of his playing time at third base. The acquisition of Valbuena also shows that the Astros are nearing a breaking point with current third baseman Matt Dominguez (a guy whom I have supported on at least one episode of the Q&A podcast), who has frustrated everyone with two seasons of inconsistency at the plate and below average defense. Last season Valbuena matched Dominguez in homeruns in fewer games played. He also produced higher totals in doubles, walks, batting average, OPS, and OPS+ over Dominguez. Defensively, Valbuena was only marginally better than Dominguez based on errors committed, though Valbuena's nine errors were committed in nearly 100 fewer chances at third base (my loyalty to Dominguez at third base apparently knows no bounds...must remain impartial). Clearly, Luis Valbuena will be brought in to compete with Dominguez for the starting job at third base while the team allows Colin Moran to continue to develop in the minors.
Straily is a 25 year old starting pitcher who has pitched only one full season (2013 Oakland Athletics). The right-handed starter was traded from Oakland to Chicago last season as a part of the Jeff Samardzija deal. As a member of the Oakland Athletics Straily fared well inside Minute Maid Park. Though he only has two career starts inside the ol' Juice Box, Straily has 18 strikeouts and 5 earned runs allowed in a total of 13 innings. While that is a very small sample compared to the rest of career outside of Minute Maid Park, Straily has shown some strikeout potential at his new home ballpark. However, being shipped to and from the minor leagues is something that he has had to deal with over the past two years, so he has yet to string along consecutive successful seasons. Hopefully he will get a chance to somewhere to pitch a full season and let the strikeouts pile up.
Final Take
The Astros set out improve multiple spots on the roster this offseason. We have seen improvements to the bullpen, at shortstop, and in the power department. The remaining targets for the team were adding depth at third base and adding another starting pitcher. While this is by no means a sexy move, the Astros accomplished both tasks with this deal. Valbuena and Straily should make decent additions to the roster, though not enough to hang your hats onto a playoff run. Plus we saved roughly five million dollars, so there's that.
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