I just wrote about this a few hours ago. Well now, the deal is official. Hunter Pence has been traded to the Philadelphia Phillies from the Houston Astros. The cost for Philly wasn’t cheap: they gave up prospects Jarred Cosart and Jonathan Singleton, the top two prospects in the organization and two of the top 25 in baseball. Houston will also pick up a pair of players to be named later in the deal, says Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Pence will immediately step in and be a contributor for the Phillies, and is a HUGE upgrade over Raul Ibanez in left field. That is, assuming that the Phillies bench the awful Ibanez instead of Domonic Brown in right field.
The Pence trade has an added bonus effect for the Phillies, as it prevents their division rivals, the Atlanta Braves, from getting Pence and bolstering their offense which took another hit tonight when Nate McLouth was placed on the DL. Pence was a major target for the Braves, and now the team will have to go in another direction to fill their outfield holes.
One thing Philly didn’t seem to take into account was salary, as Pence is making $6.9 million this season and will earn another arbitration raise next season. His salary will most likely resemble Ibanez’s this year, so the benefit of clearing his contract is nullified by the acquisition of Pence.
A brief look at the two prospects coming to Houston in the deal…
Jonathan Singleton is a 19 year old first baseman, currently playing in the Florida State League. He’s got a .798 OPS on the season and possesses good power and plate discipline (nine homers, 56 walks in 92 games for Clearwater). He broke out last season as an 18 year old in the Sally League, with an .872 OPS, 14 homers, and 62 walks.
Jarred Cosart is a 21 year old right handed pitcher, who’s spent this season as a teammate of Singleton’s in the FSL. In 108 innings, he has 79 strikeouts and 43 walks. Much like Singleton, he broke out last season in the Sally League, with 77 strikeouts and 16 walks in 71 1/3 innings. You have to take Cosart’s numbers this season with a grain of salt, as he’s tired in July, with a 6.11 ERA and a 16:10 strikeout to walk ratio as he’s reached 100 innings for the first time in his professional career.
Singleton is the better prospect right now, because of his blend of both patience and power. He could be a real special hitter, and was trade bait due to the presence of Ryan Howard in Philadelphia. Some scouts have injury concerns about Cosart, and that likely contributed to Philly’s urge to trade him.
UPDATE: Phillies prospect Josh Zeid is also going to Houston in the deal. He’s a 24 year old in AA with a 5.85 ERA, 27 walks, and 56 strikeouts in 63 2/3 innings. In 2009 and 2010, he struck out nearly a batter an inning and had ERAs under 3.00 in each season. He might be a little more than an organizational arm at this point.
Houston is also sending $1 million to Philly in the deal.
