Astros, Phillies Swap Five

Pardon me as I catch up from my time in Vegas. This deal happened a while back, but it’s still worth mentioning: The Philadelphia Phillies traded outfielder Michael Bourn, right-hander Geoff Geary, and third baseman Mike Costanzo to the Houston Astros for right-hander Brad Lidge and infielder Eric Bruntlett.

What This Means for the Astros

Lidge lost his job as closer at one point during the 2007 season, and although he finished with respectable numbers, the Astros didn’t seem to have a lot of confidence in him. Among other things, this means that Houston’s closer situation is unsettled, but for a team coming off a 73-win season, anointing a closer probably shouldn’t be top priority.

Bourn is a youngish (turns 25 in December) center fielder who owns a career .377 OBP and 85% stolen-base rate in just under 1800 minor-league plate appearances. Baseball America ranked Bourn as the Phillies’ #7 prospect coming into 2007, likening him to Juan Pierre “with better plate discipline and a stronger arm.” Well, when you put it like that, the Dodgers’ signing of Pierre seems downright ridiculous.

Sorry, where was I?

Geary is a generic middle reliever who spells his first name the right way. Costanzo is a former pitcher who was the Phillies’ #12 prospect headed into the season. He is basically the new Russell Branyan.

What This Means for the Phillies

His 2005 playoff implosion notwithstanding, Lidge has been a top-flight reliever over most of the past five seasons. He is not as dominant as he was in ‘04 and ‘05, but his K/9 of 11.82 last season is a number most pitchers in any league would be happy to own. Lidge should give the Phillies the “proven closer” they’ve been seeking for a long time and, perhaps more importantly, allow them to return Brett Myers to the rotation, where he should be much more valuable to the team.

Bruntlett can play just about anywhere. Although he’s been used mostly at shortstop and second base in his big-league career, he has seen action at every position but pitcher and catcher. Bruntlett has decent on-base skills and very little power. On a team with Adam Everett and Chris Burke, he didn’t make a lot of sense; Philly, though, doesn’t need much offensive help from its backup middle infielders.

With Bourn out of the picture, and Aaron Rowand a free agent, perhaps Shane Victorino shifts to center field. Or the Phillies could decide to throw oodles of cash at Rowand, who is coming off a career year. They did it with J.C. Romero, why not Rowand as well?

Other Voices

• Philliesflow
• Shallow Center
• Transaction Oracle

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