Pence-sylvania: Phils acquire Astros outfielder

[TTMCentral]

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies have acquired Astros All-Star right fielder Hunter Pence, two sources said Friday.

Pence was pulled from the Astros' game in Milwaukee in the bottom of the fifth inning. He had taken the field for warmups before Jason Michaels was sent out to replace him. Pence could be seen hugging teammates in the dugout before heading to the clubhouse.

One source said the Phillies will send four prospects to the Astros for Pence. None of those players are outfielder Domonic Brown or right-hander Vance Worley, both of whom had been rumored at different times to be part of a deal. Class A first baseman Jonathan Singleton and Class A pitcher Jarred Cosart are part of the trade.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...e2011&c_id=mlb

I thought this was awesome! Great move for Pence IMO.

[RickD]

Well the Phillies also get $1 Million!

[astrosfanatic]

...in other news, the Astros have officially become the Phillies AAAA Club. A press conference will confirm that tomorrow.

Last year it was Roy Oswalt, the year before Cliff Lee. This year, Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. continued his July 29th big-game hunting by landing All-Star right fielder Hunter Pence and $1MM from the Astros for prospects Jarred Cosart, Jonathan Singleton, and Josh Zeid, as well as a player to be named later. The Phillies confirmed the deal through a press release.

I am so utterly disappointed at this time, it is hard to put it in words. First of all, Ed Wade really bent over for the Phillies this time. Two prospects at the A-level is such a joke it's not even funny. i dont care if they are the top hitting/pitching prospects. Odds are that only 1 of them even make our team, and then the odds of that one player being an impact player are even less.

Second of all, it was really hard to watch Pence leave the field for the last time as an Astro. From here on out i will be the biggest Philly fan i can be. And i dont want any of you to give me any crap for bandwagoning. Since the Astros are the Phillies top farm team, i have the right!

[Mudge]

Pence is certainly a step up from the combination of Brown/Francisco on both offense and defense, and though he is arbitration eligible, he is not a free agent until the end of 2013.

PENCE: 430 PA; 123 H; 11 HR, 188 TB, 6 nSB, OPS+ 117; WAR 3.0 (oWAR 3.3, dWAR -0.3)

BROWN: 209 PA; 45; 5 HR, 72 TB, 2 nSB, OPS+ 93; WAR 0.2 (oWAR 0.7, dWAR -0.5)
FRANCISCO: 250 PA; 47 H; 6 HR, 75 TB, -1 nSB, OPS+ 89; WAR -0.9 (oWAR -0.2, dWAR -0.7)
TOTAL: 459 PA; 92 H; 11 HR, 147 TB, 1 nSB, OPS+ 91; WAR -0.7 (oWAR 0.5, dWAR -1.2)

He's not going to give them that much more power, and it remains to be seen whether, as a doubles machine, Pence helps them that much in the 5 hole. Pence and Brown (who has been getting most of the playing time in right recently) are close to a wash defensively.

I did hear rumblings about Brown's attitude and work ethic, but his not being part of the package would suggest that the Phillies were not willing to give up on him yet. One of the two will presumably move over to left when the 39-year old Ibanez departs.

Hunter Pence is a good ballplayer, and he should be a step up. But the Phillies have given up a good deal: Jarred Cosart, Jonathan Singleton, and Josh Zeid (MLB.com ranked Cosart and Singleton the 37th and 38th best prospects in baseball).

---------- Post added at 09:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:55 AM ----------

Threads merged and placed in General Baseball Discussion since it involves teams from two different divisions.

---------- Post added at 09:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:58 AM ----------

^^Why does it do that?

[WilsonC]

He's certainly an improvement and a good fit for the Phillies, though I also like the package sent to Houston. The price might be a bit steep for Phillie, but they're in a position to make the most of a good RH bat like Pence.

[astrosfanatic]

too steep? thew gave up 2 prospects that havent gone beyond A-ball. we wont be able to fully evaluate this trade for another 3 years, and that to me is why the Astros clearly lost this trade. They needed at least some kind of an MLB-ready player in return.

[yankeebiscuitfan]

too steep? thew gave up 2 prospects that havent gone beyond A-ball. we wont be able to fully evaluate this trade for another 3 years, and that to me is why the Astros clearly lost this trade. They needed at least some kind of an MLB-ready player in return.

So this may very well be the final trade of the GM of the Astros?

[astrosfanatic]

So this may very well be the final trade of the GM of the Astros?

lets hope. i have heard from others that Crane will go after Friedman to be the new GM when he takes over. i can only hope so.

Ok, the more i read scouting reports, the more i feel a LITTLE hopeful about this trade. According to those reports, Zeid ill be a solid bullpen piece as soon as right now. Singleton projects to be a 30-40 HR guy with a solid average. And Cosart has the talent to be a top of the rotation pitcher, except he has health issues, and i have heard he has the dreaded inverted-W throwing motion. Not a good sign. Well, i am just sad to see Pence moving on. I wish him the best, and i will be rooting like hell for him and the Phillies

[Mudge]

I was certain that Domonic Brown would be included.

[WilsonC]

too steep? thew gave up 2 prospects that havent gone beyond A-ball. we wont be able to fully evaluate this trade for another 3 years, and that to me is why the Astros clearly lost this trade. They needed at least some kind of an MLB-ready player in return.

Steep, but not necessarily too steep - the Phillies are in pure win-now mode, and Pence should be a valuable part of their team throughout the window of the current talent core - but the level of prospects they got really isn't far off of what they paid for Halladay, and was probably more than any of the Cliff Lee trades netted. Pence is certainly a good player, but not the elite-level difference maker that those two pitchers are. Probably worth it for the Phillies, but it's quite a return.

The Astros accomplished what they needed to do, which was to add high-end talent to the organization. They're seven games worse than any other team, without even one established star. They're not an organization on the cusp needing a few MLB-ready guys; they're an organization that needs the best talent they can get to work towards building a good core. No prospect is a sure thing, but Singleton and Cozart likely slot in immediately as the top two prospects in their system.

This could very easily end up being a win-win trade.

---------- Post added at 03:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:29 PM ----------

I was certain that Domonic Brown would be included.

I guess that depends on whether he's fallen out of favor, or whether they just think he needs more time to develop. Remember, Brown was untouchable in the Halladay trade; Pence isn't on that level.