I'd say VV has a chance to be the best piece out of all of them... and the one guy the Phillies coveted the most (and definitely has caused the most excitement for their fans). If Giles stays healthy and performs up to his expectations, it could very well be a win-win. Many thought the Astros fleeced the Phillies in the Pence deal, but at the end of the day the Phillies do not miss Cosart, Singleton or Zeid. Maybe Santana... who turned into Gomez for us.
I think the difference between those trades and the one today is that all of those players were Houston icons and seasoned veterans. Not to mention the Astros were on the decline on a majority of those trades and were prepared to rebuild. Giles has proven he can do his job well in the big leagues while Appel has yet to take the mound. VV started out really well but struggled down the stretch. Hindsight is 20/20, but I can't help but feel this trade is way different than the previous ones with the Phillies.
Lidge had little value and needed a change of scenery, and getting Bourn for him was actually good value IMO. Oswalt and Pence were firesale moves by a front office desperate to rebuild and inject some talent into the farm system. These moves are all WAY different from this one. Giles, while young, has at least proven something on the ML level.
I love how to prove your point you are leaving out the consensus best SS in the league, the face of our team and the future face of the whole league, Correa.
He missed 2 months with injury in 2014 (and pitched 64 innings), and pitched <90 innings in 2015. I would say the Astros have been protecting his arm as much as possible, a la Lidge. I like Velasquez a lot (more than Appel), but I'm guessing the team didn't see him as workhorse 200+ IP top of rotation guy. It does hurt that we had to add a premium arm like Velasquez, another borderline ML arm in Obie, and a recent high pick in Eshelman in addition to the recent #1 overall pick to land a closer...
I have been a blind defender of Luhnow for most of his moves. But this one disappointed me. I guess it makes me feel stupid for trying to convince myself that Appel could turn it around. I'd been giving Luhnow the benefit of the doubt, thinking he knew what he was doing when he selected Appel over Bryant... Did Luhnow select him or did he sit home reading ESPN draft rankings, and pick Appel based on that. Major props to the Cubs front office for being smart. As an Astros fan I am embarrassed and saddened by our front office.
Maybe it's just me, maybe I'm overvaluing our farm, but Luhnow appears to get WORKED in nearly every trade. Adding Appel was too much IMO for a rookie flame thrower. Someone please convince me I'm wrong. Luhnow gets worked in trades
That was a lat muscle strain... not an arm injury. Sure, they've brought him along slowly (as expected post TJ surgery), but I also don't see them restricting him via pitch count or giving him extra days in between starts. He was mainly limited last year due to the promotion. Needs a better 3rd pitch to be a top of rotation guy... but it was a justifiable cost for a 25 year old pitcher with electric stuff. Fisher has more value than Appel right now... Appel's inflated status simply due to being a former #1 pick is clouding a lot of people's opinions. You take that status away, and he wouldn't have been close to being on any top prospect lists.
I was hoping they took Appel instead of VV...only to learn it was both of them. Really liked VV he could be a solid #2-3 if he stays healthy. Maybe a #1-2 if he has a more consistent curveball.
Stop posting. We made a total turnaround last year, including a nice run it the playoffs. Earlier than expected. welcome to ignore
Wow now seeing everything we gave up does not look like a good deal anymore. And, do we really need another short stop ? For that price we should have got more
this is probably the best approach. crazy how much money we have to spend. Around 80MM just to get to the league AVERAGE!
Everything they gave up? Right now, all they gave up was potential. The other SS is 17 years old. Who knows what will happen in 3-5 years. They certainly did not get him to play in the next 3 years. They did not give up any player who they were counting on to contribute in 2016.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ken Giles on joining the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Astros?src=hash">#Astros</a>: "I'm very, very, very excited."</p>— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/675763280867004416">December 12, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ken Giles on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Astros?src=hash">#Astros</a>: "The special things they did last year,that's big stuff.I'm hopefully, n any way I can, help take them 2the next step"</p>— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/675764358111059968">December 12, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
People are over valuing our starting rotation. Collin McHughs was not very effective in the first half. People were calling for him to get traded away. Yet we knew he was a second half pitcher. And after the all star break, he regained his previous year form. Maybe the Astros can pitch Kazmir in the first half of the season, then bring in Collin McHugh for the second half. Dallas, McCullers, Fiers are our big horses now if there is a World Series run. I am hopeful McHuges keeps his touch.
Yes I think Luhnow has been worked in last two trades but I trust his "eye" for talent. Yes, he missed on Appel and Where would be if we had Bryant on 3rd, but we can't focus on past. Our farm system is stacked and we eventually have to make trades for needs. He's made our farm system legit and we can now compete moreso to our farm and landing needs at different positions via trade.
If you are offended he used the word rape fine, I can agree. But if you are being a thread police, go sit on the corner. Because your input is what you find in the toilet. I'm sick of you holier than though pretend want a be's..
