The Astros traded their two best players three weeks ago. Phillies fans seem to love Hunter Pence (and the new meme he brought to town – “good game, let’s go eat”), and Braves fans are enamored with Michael Bourn and his blazing wheels. You never hear anything about the Astros’ end of the deal, though. Even though we are dealing with really small samples since the trade, I’m going to look at the effects the two trades have had on the three franchises involved.
Phillies
When the Phillies made the move to pick up Hunter Pence, my major gripe with the deal was that they were demoting Domonic Brown, instead of sending Raul Ibanez to the bench. Well, Brown is in AAA, and Ibanez is losing playing time in right field to John Mayberry Jr. Everything has turned up aces so far for Philly. Pence has a .906 OPS in 20 games for Philly (including 11 walks, after having 30 in 100 games for the Astros) and has been everything the Phillies dreamed of since the acquistion. Mayberry has an eyepopping 1.163 in 32 August at bats for the team, mostly against left-handed pitching. As for Brown, he’s scuffling since being demoted back down to Lehigh Valley. In August, he has a .579 OPS in 18 games, but is walking a ton (along with striking out a ton). With Pence’s acquisition, and the emergence of Mayberry, you have to wonder in the back of your mind if Brown might get moved this offseason. It wouldn’t be out of line for Ruben Amaro to make that move, as he’s been known as a guy who is not afraid to trade prospects for veteran talent that he feels can help his club.
Braves
Michael Bourn is actually having a down couple of weeks since the Braves picked him up, but that can be totally attributed to a lack of power, something Bourn has never really shown in his career. He’s hitting .304 and getting on base at a .360 clip, which is a vast improvement over Jordan Schafer and his .240 average and .307 OBP when healthy. Bourn has also stolen six bases in 19 games, placing him in a tie for second on the team (behind only Schafer). The one downside of the trade for Bourn is that it has knocked Jose Constanza out of center field and into right field, where he’s stealing at bats from Jason Heyward under the guise of “gotta play the hot hand”. If Heyward is hurt, the benching is understandable. But if he’s not, it’s ludicrous to play a career minor leaguer like Constanza over him.
Astros
Ah yes, the Astros. There is a lot to discuss with this team in regards to the trade. First, let’s take a look at the performances of the players acquired from the Phillies and Braves, and how they’re faring as members of the Houston organization. Note: all of these stats don’t include Sunday’s games. MILB.com takes forever to update properly.
P Jarred Cosart: 3.38 ERA, 21 1/3 IP, 0 HR, 5 BB, 11 K
1B Jonathan Singleton: .316/.349/.570, 79 AB, 6 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 4 BB, 25 K
P Brett Oberholtzer: 6.23 ERA, 13 IP, 2 HR, 6 BB, 13 K
P Paul Clemens: 0.00 ERA, 19 2/3 IP, 0 HR, 9 BB, 17 K
P Juan Abreu: 1.86 ERA, 9 2/3 IP, 0 HR, 7 BB, 9 K
CF Jordan Schafer: .500/.545/.600, 20 AB, 2 2B, 2 BB, 5 K, 3/4 SB
Mixed results across the board. Schafer is on a rehab assignment in AAA, while Abreu is playing reguarly there. Cosart, Oberholtzer and Clemens are in the rotation in AA, while Singleton is spending his time in high-A. Cosart and Oberholtzer have been huge disappointments so far, while Singleton is playing well in a hitter’s league, and Clemens is doing a wonderful job, and has been the best pitcher of the deal so far. I don’t know why Abreu isn’t in the major league bullpen. I guess the Astros were concerned about the 27 walks in 48 innings he had for the Gwinnett Braves this year, and were less impressed by the 68 strikeouts. He’s struggled so far. As for Schafer, he’s finishing up a rehab assignment from a broken finger suffered during the end of his tenure in Atlanta. He should be able to rejoin the team next week.
But do the Astros really want Schafer right now? After the trades, Bourn and Pence needed to be replaced in Houston’s starting major league outfield. After Brett Wallace was demoted to AAA last month, the Astros are going with a whole new outfield, moving defensive slug Carlos Lee to first base. Jason Bourgeois has been getting most of the time in center, while JD Martinez is starting in left, and right field features a cast of characters of guys like Brian Bogusevic and JB Shuck (who has also gotten time in center). The results have been surprising. Below are their August statlines.
Bogusevic: .382/.432/.735, 32 AB, 3 2B, 3 HR, 3 BB, 7 K
Shuck: .276/.366/.333, 36 AB, 2 2B, 5 BB, 1 K
Martinez: .257/.307/.543, 70 AB, 5 2B, 5 HR, 5 BB, 16 K
Bourgeois: .167/.196/.204, 54 AB, 1 3B, 2 BB, 9 K
Honestly, aside from Bourgeois….that really isn’t too terrible. Bogusevic is raking in limited playing time, Shuck is holding his own and showing great plate discipline, and Martinez has been a steady, solid hand. If Houston could get center field figured out, possibly by giving Shuck more playing time and reducing Bourgeois’ playing time, they could have something very interesting going on here. Schafer could be the answer in center for this team too, if he’s able to finally tap into the talents that he’s been oozing for years.
This is one of those rare situations where it looks like every team involved has turned out better off. The Braves and Phillies have improved their teams in the here and now, and have a better shot and making deep playoff runs with Bourn and Pence in the fold. Houston gets a talented crop of young kids who could contribute for them in the future, and they get a look at some players on the farm right now who could be long-term solutions as well. Win, win, win.
