Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Assessing the deal

There's not going to be a whole lot here that you haven't likely already perused, but let's give this a shot:

*This is another win for Jeff Luhnow. Quintero was clearly the C3 on the roster, and Bourgeois was rendered...not useless, but expendable, by Jordan Schafer. Thing is, the Astros have a few players on the roster who can do what Bourgeois does. Quintero, while he has the 11th-best Caught Stealing percentage among active catchers (32.2%), he also averaged a 60 OPS+ from 2008-11. Bourgeois had a career-high .680 OPS in 2011, but from August 1-end of season, he hit .225/.265/.252. The fact that the Astros flipped them for a Down The Road ML-caliber reliever and another potential prospect is a good thing.

*Like many trades we've seen in the past two years, it's just going to take a while to know for sure. Chapman, and the PTBNL (whom Jordan Sams, via TCB, speculates on here) aren't likely to be ready to see Big League action...maybe until late 2013.

*With the departure of Quintero, Wandy Rodriguez is the only remaining Astro who touched the field in the World Series season of 2005.