Ed Wade turned to his old club for his first big deal, as Houston dealt Brad Lidge and utility guy Eric Bruntlett to Philadelphia for Michael Bourn, Mike Costanzo and Geoff Geary.
Bourn looked like he had some potential as a top of the order spark plug, putting up a .277/.348/.378 line with 18 steals in 19 attempts and a solid 13/21 BB/SO ratio. The catch was that he played in a very protected role (he was with the team the whole season and I count 14 games in which he had three or more plate appearances) after making the jump to the majors.
Geary took a bit of a step back from a couple of solid years in the middle of the Philly pen, and Costanzo gives the Astros another opportunity to fill the 3B hole after a solid season in the Eastern League that puts him on the major league radar.
It sounds like the acquisition of Lidge allows Brett Myers to slide back into the rotation, and without delving too far into the Phillies depth chart, I am thinking that this will drive the Phillies to look a little harder for an outfielder with Aaron Rowand due for big bucks in free agency. On the other hand Houston was said to be one of the big players in the centerfielder market, so from the Rangers perspective this is no less than a wash, and it could be a plus if Philly looks to Shane Victorino in CF and looks to the outside to fill RF instead.
The Houston pen will of course look very different from recent years, with Lidge following Dan Wheeler out of town.