http://twitter.com/alysonfooter My "good day" comment was in reference to Wallace acquisition. At first glance that is a terrific pickup. less than 5 seconds ago via Twitter for iPhone On Wallace: "He's a hitting machine, no question about that. We've had our eye on him since '08 draft." 3 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone Wade on Villar: "Very significant tools - speed, good hands, above average arm. Good instincts to hit." will report to Class A Lancaster. 4 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone
Turning Gosh for Brett Wallace was kind of masterful on Ed Wade's part. I kind of take back what I said this looks like a good deal for Houston now. Wallace was the #1 prospect in Toronto's farm system has absolutely raked this year in AAA and Jays' fans are saying he's ready next year. Next year also is a team option for Berkman. So now they can decline that and shed 15 million more next year. Roy Oswalt for atleast 4 years of J.A. Happ, a hard hitting 1B and about 25 million now to use in the offseason (figuring in declining Berkman's option) I like it.
Seems like a solid package after the Blue Jays trade. Unbelievable to me that they aren't considering trading Myers more, if that's true.
I like Brett Wallace. The deal isn't as bad with him involved. He'll start at 1B next season and might even be a September call up. As much as I crap on Wade. I think that part of the deal is pretty smart.
Wow, we get Brett Wallace as our future 1B... anything we'd get for Berkman at this point would be absolute gravy. This actually seems promising now.
This move actually makes the idea that they want to keep Myer's make more sense. If they move Berkman, it's just as you said, they now have his replacement, and have more money to go out and get an impact bat or picture in the off season. The Wallace move is really a stroke of genius, I have to give them credit for that. I never saw that coming.
I thought Berkman's was a player option for next year? If it was team's, we should've already been in discussion about trading him. I know he's on the decline, but can still make a difference for a club needing a bat. His OBP is still good.
Wallace is about to turn 24, has a low walk rate and sub .500 SLG% in the minors and is reported to be poor defensively. There may be a reason that teams have been willing to part with him, beyond who was on the other end of the deals.
Depends on several things, the biggest of which is definitely what time frame are you looking to be competitive in. For the Astros, it looks like they're looking at 2012/2013 before they'll field a competitive team. So if the player with the higher ceiling looks like he'll be able to contribute in those years, trade for him. Though bust potential is a big risk there. On the flip side, if your team is just in the middle of one bad season amidst several good seasons and plans to compete the next year, go with the surer bet.
Read my post in the Cubs thread. I seriously doubt we would get anything really good from him right now. Let him continue to pitch well and work his way to Type B FA status.
Everyone else's scouting reports seem to offer glowing reports. I trust them. For example, Jason Gray ranked Wallace as the #6 prospect in baseball not in the Majors. He's entirely MLB-ready and has been highly rated for a while now. He just keeps getting moved in trade-deadline deals or gets stuck behind another player (Overbay, Pujols) and hasn't made an appearance yet.
