Looks like Carlos Gomez will be traded after all, as the Houston Astros opened up their very deep well of top-flight prospects to complete a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers for Gomez and starter Mike Fiers. Going to Milwaukee in the deal are outfielders Brett Phillips and Domingo Santana along with pitchers Josh Hader and Adrian Houser.
Jon Heyman first reported the trade with Ken Rosenthal filling in the prospects received. Considering what the New York Mets were offering for Gomez, this trade equals a huge win for the Brewers with the type of prospects they got in return.
Not much has to be said about Gomez at this point, as he’s been one of the best all-around center fielders in baseball for the last few seasons. Since entering the league in 2007, no player has as many Defensive Runs Saved as Gomez does (88) and over the past three seasons, he’s tapped into some power to make him an All-Star-caliber player. He hasn’t played up to that level this season, hitting .262/.328/.423 in 74 games with only eight homers, but he has to be happy moving to the bandbox that is Minute Maid Park.
Meanwhile, the addition of Fiers is what most likely got the deal done for the Astros. Since his breakout in 2012, Fiers has been one of the most steady arms in the National League, striking out more than a batter an inning over the course of his career. Finally healthy after suffering from a few injuries in 2013 and 2014, Fiers is his usual self, striking out 121 batters in 118 innings with a WHIP of 1.36. With Houston trying to conserve their young arms for the stretch run, the addition of Fiers to the rotation helps solve that problem while adding a good mid-rotation starter, as well.
The Brewers have to be excited with the players they got back from the Astros, as it does much better than the Wilmer Flores/Zack Wheeler deal would have done for them from the Mets.
Phillips, 21, is the best prospect out of the four, having shot up the ranks of prospect lists all over the place with tremendous numbers across multiple levels since being drafted in 2012 out of Seminole High School in Florida. Here are his triple slash numbers across A-ball and Double-A since the beginning of 2014:
2014
Quad Cities (Midwest League – A): .302/.362/.521 in 443 PA, 13 HR, 12 3B, 21 2B
Lancaster (California League – A+): .339/.421/.560 in 128 PA, 4 HR, 2 3B, 8 2B
2015
Lancaster: .320/.377/.548 in 322 PA, 15 HR, 7 3B, 19 2B
Corpus Christi (Texas League – AA): .321/.372/.463 in 145 PA, 1 HR, 4 3B, 8 2B
Not only can Phillips rake, but his glove will carry in center field, as well. Phillips was recently ranked #21 in Baseball America’s midseason prospect ranking list. He’s an absolute stud and should quickly be able to fill the void left by the departure of Gomez. Expect him to report to Double-A Huntsville with his new organization and rise quickly towards the Major Leagues.
Santana, 23, has bounced back and forth between the minors and Majors for two seasons now, and there’s not much for him to do in Triple-A, as he has hit .320/.426/.582 in Triple-A at Fresno this season. A corner outfielder by trade, there’s a chance he could be brought up for a late-season look very quickly with the Brewers out of contention.
The hurlers are more intriguing than good at this point, but both have the opportunity to contribute at the Major League Level. Hader, 21, has a funky delivery from the left side that plays up with his velocity only sitting in the 89-92 range on average. He’s wiry at 6’3″, 160 lbs., but his stuff is good, and his slider and changeup are both fringe pitches that are close to being average. He might need another year or two, but if he can figure out the secondary offerings, he could be a good mid-rotation arm for the Brewers once he arrives.
Houser, 22, was Hader’s teammate at Double-A Corpus Christi and is a big guy at 6’4″ and 230 lbs. He features a fastball in the mid 90’s that he compliments with a slider/cutter that was once a breaking ball. Various scouting reports don’t have much to say about a changeup, and he hasn’t been a true starter for the Hooks this season. There’s a good chance that he’ll end up in the bullpen, but if he can figure out secondary options, he can become a Wily Peralta-type if it all breaks right.
Of course, the big story out of all this was the fact that a mere 24 hours ago, Gomez was on his way to becoming a Met before the shenanigans from the Mets reached peak schadenfreude, but now that this deal is done, the Brewers have to be happier with the return they got than even if they had received Wheeler. There are at least two pieces that could be a part of the Brewers next good team, perhaps three if Hader can remain a starter, and a possible bonafide superstar in Phillips.
The Mets, however, do have Tyler Clippard and Juan Uribe. Which, is, you know…nice, I guess.
