Yeah, I agree about Schafer in the sense that he was terrible in Atlanta, but he was a hot prospect before getting called up, so I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that he is playing better: the astros must have saw something in him in spring training as they put him in the leadoff spot, which surprised me. I also thought that Chris Johnson was trash after last year, so I really don't know what to make of him. My only point of contention is Altuve. Altuve, to me, is the real deal. He reminds me of a young Craig Biggio. Or, going back even further, Jose Cruz. He just seems like a guy that is not the biggest, fastest or strongest, but works harder than anyone else.
At this time last year, the best team in the AL was Cleveland at 18-9. They finished 80-82. Baltimore was 13-14 and finished 69-93. Kansas City was 15-13 and finished 71-91. Florida and Colorado had the best records in the NL at 18-9 and 17-9. They finished with 72 and 73 wins. April is just not a good indicator of what a team will be by mid-season. If someone comes calling tomorrow for whatever reason with good offers for these guys, you trust what you knew before the season - this team is terrible - and you make the trade. If they are really good in June or July, then maybe you reconsider. But if the opportunity comes up now, you jump on it instead of jumping on fool's gold. That's what got this team into this mess in the first place.
I agree with this to some degree. But I also want to point out that for me it depends on the prospect: the astros make a trade for wandy it should be because they get a superstar in return. At least a guy in the top 50. If it is just a collection of young talent, I am not so interested. It would have to be for a guy that is rated above singleton. And preferably at a premium position like ss. Xander Bogaerts????
Soft-tossing pitchers don't make good transitions to the AL. I like Wandy. He's a solid #2 starter in the NL. But he's clearly a weak 2 in the AL East and maybe only an average 3. Then you have to factor in his 2 year, $26 million dollar contact. That's far from inconsequential. I'm not even saying we should keep him; I just think y'all need to temper your expectations. He's been performing like this for 4 years now and no team thought he was worth a big package. There's no reason to think this year will be different.
You don't make trades based on what might happen or how he'd be valued in a certain league. You make them based on what he's doing on your team. Wandy should garner a premium price or he should not be traded. Last year the astros we're in a bargaining position because everybody knew the astros wanted to bolster the farm. This year the astros might be vying for a playoff spot, so the motivation might be lower.
If that were true, Wandy wouldn't be wearing an Astros uni right now. Wandy also isn't proven in the AL. That sets guys like Cliff Lee, Mark Burehle, Johan Santana, CJ Wilson, CC Sabathia, Gio Gonzalez, John Lester, David Price, etc. apart from Wandy. Pence is also more 25HR 100RBI guy (How you can call him 20HR, 80RBI guy is beyond me). Yes he has never had 100RBI, but he has been on terrible offenses and had 91 & 97 the last 2 years. Guess how many RFs had more RBI than Pence a year ago? One, Jose Bautista. Only 4 had higher OPS. Wandy meanwhile was tied for 11th in ERA amongst LHP and tied for 14th in WHIP. I think Wandy is incredibly underrated, and I think a team should be willing to give up good prospects to get him, but the recent evidence in baseball shows teams don't give up a lot for aging high priced veterans. They are trading for guys in their mid-late 20s. Roy Oswalt was younger than Rodriguez is, and cheaper. Despite chronic back problems, Roy had started at least 30 games for the past 6 seasons and was posting the 2nd best WHIP of his career (which BTW, would put Wandy to shame over the last couple of seasons). Wandy has only once pitched 200 innings.
Crane already said we are rebuilding, i promise you that Wandy, Clee and Meyers will be moved by the deadline… Drayton screwed us all over trying and hoping he could right the ship with a move here and another move there.. the writing was on the wall and he wouldn't dump it and start over.. Kinda is reminding me what freaking Les alexander is doing to the rockets.. it's not working so start over so the rebuild won't take as long instead of floating in mediocrity for 4 years then deciding to rebuild which will take another 4 years and before u know it you are a forgotten franchise… we need to dump anything that can get net us prospects.. just my opinion.. the worst thing that ever happened to the astros was the first time we made that miracle run to make the playoffs going on that ridiculous win streak to end the year.. from that point on Drayton would NEVER trade anyone out of the hope we might turn it on late and make a run… anyone think wandy can keep it under a 3 era by mid june? i think he could and if he does i bet we get some really good prospects.. we need a break like this so i hope he stays locked in..
The issue was with Wandy's contract, not his performance. That was well documented. With only 1.5 guaranteed years left - maybe 2.5, depending on circumstance - it's much less of an issue now than a year ago. The possibility of over three guaranteed years was what killed his market, since most teams can't see their situations that far out. And yes, I agree - he's probably a 2 or 3 in the AL East. But that's not the only market for him... there are plenty of contending NL clubs who should be in the mix. There's also the fact that even as a 2/3 in the AL East, he's still likely to be the best arm on the market for those clubs. So even if the Yanks/Sox are uncertain about the fit, beggars can't be choosers when it comes to in-season moves. We'll see what happens, but I think the return ends up better than the Oswalt deal, if he's moved.
In order for us to get a better offer, and mind you the Oswalt offer wasn't as bad as it looks today, we need few pitchers to be on the market, and multiple teams interested. We got a SS ranked in the top 100 prospects a year ago, a CF currently rated 39th (BA), and whatever the hell J.A. Happ is. The Pence deal was flat out rape.
Gose and Villar have both exceeded expectations since, at least in the sense of their rankings. They weren't nearly the prospects at the time, if I recall. Neither was even in the top 5 of the Philly system. I think a Wandy deal starts with one very good prospect. Won't be the Pence deal, but you can get a big piece, I think.
It won't happen, but the Rockies, who definitely had interest in Wandy, have the best 3B prospect. Tigers and Red Sox also have very good 3B prospects and could potentially be interested down the road. If the Yankees want to do business, Dante Bichette or Tyler Austin would be big improvements over any 3B in our system.
Gose was the higher prospect (and obviously highly valued by the Jays). It was disappointing because we didn't land Trevor May or Cosart. Gose and Villar were both high ceiling guys, but they weren't as highly regarded nationally as Singleton/Cosart were when we got them. It certainly left us thinking is that all, considering we threw in so much cash.
See now we're just debating semantics. I think a very good prospect is a reasonable starting place. What Sickels would call a B or B- level prospect. I don't think we'd get a premier prospect or something the caliber of Singleton or Cosart like we got in the Pence trade. I'd expect a deal starting with a Paul Clemens level prospect. I seriously doubt we get a prospect with higher upside than Wandy himself.
It would be dumb to make a deal like that. We got Bagwell for Anderson. Getting a prospect back that probably won't be as good as the veteran player you are parting with isn't smart. You are basically treating Wandy as a journeyman for a deal like that. Pitching talent is probably one of the most difficult to develop. And there is noting wrong with keeping wandy on your team. I'd expect to receive, at minimum, 1 top 50 level talent in the deal, and some minor pieces. Otherwise, it's a dumb deal to make a trade for.
There's a reason it's called upside; there's a downside to it, too. You should have to give more "upside", in theory, to acquire a proven Major Leaguer in his prime. Honestly, if a deal starts with a Paul Clemens-level prospect, I'd consider keeping Wandy. He's the type that should age well and could have another five or six years of near-peak production, possibly helping you come 2014 or 2015 when you make your first playoff push. If you can't get one player of the Singleton/Cosart caliber, which is what his production deserves, I'm not sure I deal him.
Yes because teams trading with us want to repeat the Bagwell deal... I don't see why my statement was so dumb. We're all agreed he's probably a 2/3 starting pitcher on a good team. He also costs $26 mil over the next two years. With that in mind you're either going to get a high-ceiling/low floor player (e.g Johnny Villar) or a medium-ceiling/medium floor prospect (e.g. Paul Clemens) along a few other lesser prospects. Think the Bourn trade. He's a similar sub-all star level player BUT he was younger AND actually had made an all-star team. We didn't get a top 50 player in either the Bourn or Oswalt trades. I just don't see any way we get a Cosart or Singleton level player (both top 50 prospects) for Wandy.
