Bourn/Lidge trade

by Requiem on Nov 7, 2007 10:07 PM CST

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3099599

Two guys who Adam's had some interest in have been traded for each other.

The Phillies sent outfielder Michael Bourn, pitcher Geoff Geary and minor leaguer Mike Costanzo to Houston, and received infielder Eric Bruntlett in addition to Lidge.

I like Houston's side to it.

While Lidge is good, he's been up-and-down the past couple of years....

Interestingly enough, the Astros have Pence in CF (though I'm not sure if they'll keep him there). So, potentially, this might open up a deal for one of CF.... Req

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Pence...

I read somewhere the other day that the 'Stros would prefer to play him on a corner.

by Topgun22 on Nov 7, 2007 10:10 PM CST reply actions

is decent in center field but he is really best suited to play one of the corner positions. With Lee in left and no right fielder on the roster, Pence will more than likely slide to right and have Bourn take over in center. Lidge was terrible in Houston and may just need a change of scenery, and Bruntlett is a complete spare. I really like the trade for the Astros.

by uthornfan on Nov 7, 2007 10:10 PM CST reply actions

Good for Astros

Pence to a COF translates into a serious defensive upgrade, especially with Bourn to CF ...

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by inactive lsb user on Nov 7, 2007 10:37 PM CST up reply actions

Concur

this looks like a great trade for Houston, I really like Bourn and think he could be a good CFer and Pense moving to RF really upgrades their D.

"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates

by slc ranger on Nov 7, 2007 10:56 PM CST up reply actions

i'm still not sure why they didn't just

keep Taveras and play Pence in the COF spot.

Then they could have still had Lidge to try to move for a SP. Their rotation is a bigger joke than the Rangers at this point.

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by willamos2 on Nov 7, 2007 11:29 PM CST reply actions

Except...

...they have a bona fide ace at the top of their rotation. The Rangers have nothing even close to Oswalt's production.

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by RangerMoto on Nov 8, 2007 12:34 AM CST up reply actions

it seems like

people like this trade for the astros. not sure why, as michael bourne is not considered to be a top prospect, and the other two guys the astros received are trade filler. I would have thought they could get more for lidge. also, this moves myers back into the phillies rotation, which is a huge boost for them.

by clark on Nov 8, 2007 1:43 AM CST reply actions

Well....

I liked this much better when I thought that Lidge only had a year of service time left before FA, but it turns out he has 2 years left.

The Astros basically got:

6 years of a decent-solid CF prospect
a decent reliever
a decent-solid 3B prospect

for

2 fairly expensive years of a mediocre-fantastic reliever
a utility infielder

Given that, I think it's fairly even. But I still like the Astros package a little better.

Part of the reason is that I'm a believer that decent-good relievers are pretty fungible. And if you can get a good return on them, it's often times, worth trading them.

Req

by Requiem on Nov 8, 2007 5:08 AM CST up reply actions