(I'm assuming you're referring to Wandy and not Pence here) Wandy was arguably one of the 10 best pitchers in baseball last year - and his ERA was actually inflated by a single outing where he gave up 10 runs. If he duplicates that this year, he's an ace for whoever trades for him, despite the lack of name or star power. The reason to trade him would be that he's a free agent after this year, and the Astros may be priced out of signing him. The exception is if they are able to lock him into a reasonable multiyear deal.
Adding to this, he is also lefthanded which makes him even more attractive to contenders. I would love to see what we could get for Wandy and Roy at the deadline.
Got my rally cap on time for Lee, Pence, Blum, and pretty much everyone except Keppinger's bat to get going. 244 on base percentage and a 222 batting average is embarrassing.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tmxTtDiWidNuZUZLxaZIu5Q&output=html Wandy is an arbitration guy, but he's also in his 30's. If you can get a package for him, you move him. The Astros have to get lucky and get a Teixera/Haren type of package in exchange for one of their better players.
Interesting - I thought you just got free agency after your 6th year, but I guess not. I think the extra Arb year might actually help the Astros if they do want to negotiate a 3-4 year deal with Wandy since he can't really cash in for another 2 years. I don't know if the Astros want to - like you said, he's in his 30's. But at the same time, as a sorta not-super-hard-throwing control-oriented lefty, he could very well pitch 4 or 5 more years at a relatively high level. I wouldn't be opposed to them getting a long-term deal or trading him for prospects. The worst option would be sitting there and letting him pitch the next two years and then letting him go or having to pay him a fortune when he hits FA (which should be around the time the Astros could be on the upswing again and actually need him).
So by that sheet we only have 44 million dollars commited next year ? That's a good chunk of cash that might be able to hasten the process of rebuilding.
Problem with that is by signing type "A" FAgents we will start losing our draft picks. I say keep the payroll down and, like most have said, use that money to go over slot to draft the best prospects and development.
Silver lining, Stros on pace for the #1 pick in the 2011 draft. Here are the early prospects... http://www.baseballrumormill.com/2010/03/2011-mlb-draft-preview/
Our team is so bad yet it could be a Wal-Mart for contenders. Wandy Roy Berkman Lee All All-Star caliber players who could be shipped out. Our team is going to probably be getting more attention than any other in the league at the deadline.
