I like Giles, but his numbers were down across the board from his rookie year. Still a great season in 2015, but there is typically more variability in reliever performance year on year than any other position - it's one of the reasons that Moneyball teams don't typically pay for closers (even the really good ones are usually way overvalued on the market). As much as I like Giles' arm, it may be nerve-racking to watch a guy in the ninth inning who walks 3+ batters per 9 IP ... even if he does strike out 3 times that.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Astros get Ken Giles & SS Jonathan Arauz from Phillies in exchange for RHPs Mark Appel, Harold Arauz, Eshelman, Velasquez and Obie .</p>— Brian McTaggart ⚾️ (@brianmctaggart) <a href="https://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/status/675738717277978624">December 12, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Jonathan Arauz made his professional debut in the Gulf Coast League this season. I believe that he signed for around $600K in the previous IFA signing period. <script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgets.sports-reference.com/wg.fcgi?css=1&site=br&url=%2Fregister%2Fplayer.cgi%3Fid%3Darauz-000jon&div=div_standard_batting"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Astros get Ken Giles & SS Jonathan Arauz from Phillies in exchange for RHPs Mark Appel, Harold Arauz, Eshelman, Velasquez and Obie .</p>— Brian McTaggart ⚾️ (@brianmctaggart) <a href="https://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/status/675738717277978624">December 12, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Mark Appel??? I didn't know this.
WTF Holy crap this trade got expensive. Arauz is extremely young, and doesn't appear to be a big prospect at the moment. We'll have to see what he does long term, but this trade is looking a lot more risky now than it was the day it was announced. Even with his struggles losing Appel hurts, but we do keep Fisher.
Although, I did hear Appel wasn't doing as well as people hoped. Maybe they didn't like the outlook for him.
The last 3 #1 overall picks are no longer with their original organizations. With Appel gone, who's going to be the new Jeremy Lin of the system?
Luhnow gave up a lot for a closer who's not that experienced. Imagine if we went after an actual big name, I think Springer would have been dealt.
As a guy who does a pretty god job keeping up with our prospects I had never heard of Harold Arauz. Is that a common name in Panama?
Maybe they are about to sign kazmir? This seems like a risky, unnecessary move. Gregerson was a solid closer, I wouldn't have qualified the closer role as the most pressing. Other arms were out there for bullpen hope. Do not get the addition of Appel?
Signed for $300K in 2011, had success in Greeneville and the complex leagues, but his stint in Tri-City last year was the first speed bump of his career. He didn't have terrible peripherals, but he did get hit hard. I don't believe that Jonathan and Harold are related.
