Dexter Fowler Traded to Astros

[Villain]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/12/astros-acquire-dexter-fowler.html

The Rockies announced that they have traded outfielder Dexter Fowler and a player to be named later to the Astros in exchange for right-hander Jordan Lyles and outfielder Brandon Barnes.

Fowler, 28 in March, wasn't able to replicate his brilliant offensive performance in 2012, but he still enjoyed a strong season. The switch-hitter batted .263/.369/.407 with 12 homers and 19 stolen bases as Colorado's primary center fielder. A sore right wrist and a left knee sprain limited Fowler to just 119 games, but he's only one year removed from a .300/.389/.474 batting line.

Fowler has a strong walk rate and rarely strikes out, but he's not without his warts. Fowler isn't regarded as a strong defensive center fielder, owning negative career marks in Ultimate Zone Rating and Derfensive Runs Saved. He's also done most of his damage at Coors Field, posting an .880 OPS at home in his career compared to a .694 mark on the road. He's owed $7.35MM in 2014 and will be arbitration eligible for the final time before free agency the following offseason.

Lyles, who recently turned 23, has a career 5.35 ERA with 6.2 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and 48.6 percent ground-ball rate. Those numbers certainly aren't impressive, but Lyles has consistently been one of the youngest pitchers in the Majors after debuting as a 20-year-old in 2011. The Astros selected him 38th overall in the 2008 draft, and he twice ranked on Baseball America's list of Top 100 prospects. Lyles appeared to be on the road to a solid breakout season, having posted a 4.02 ERA through July 10, but he faded down the stretch, posting a 7.67 ERA over his final 13 appearances. Lyles won't be eligible for arbitration until next offseason and is under team control through the 2017 season.

Barnes, 27, batted .240/.289/.346 with eight homers and 11 stolen bases. Though he offered little at the plate, Barnes played outstanding defense in the outfield. He was solid against left-handed pitching as well, batting .296/.354/.437. He's under control through the 2018 season and is not yet arbitration eligible.

 

[Villain]

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Astros will almost surely flip Fowler, he isn't that good and they aren't going to pay him.

Lyles stinks, and Barnes is a bench player who can't hit but runs down everything in the OF. Aside from Carlos Gomez, probably the best defensive CF I saw substantially last season.

Fowler is a big offensive upgrade from the slop HOU threw out there last season, but he'll have trouble in that enormous CF for the three months they employ him.

 

[Villain]

Coors might help Barnes.

 

[Woy]

Luhnow got a solid player for two bums. #best #stroswagon

 

[NAHSTE]

Seems like a steal to me. Fowler is a decent player and they didn't give up anything.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Seems like a steal to me. Fowler is a decent player and they didn't give up anything.

Seems to be the trend this off-season. Overspend for the average player, but the trade market has been feast and famine for the two teams involved. This deal, plus the Johnson and Fister ones, were pretty lopsided moves.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Luhnow got a solid player for two bums. #best #stroswagon

Seems like a steal to me. Fowler is a decent player and they didn't give up anything.

Fowler: .244/.324/.346

Fowler career away from Coors: .240/.334./.354

So Fowler, with some of the most dramatic Coors splits in the league, is predictably putting up the same shit slash he always has outside of Denver (as I predicted he would in the chatbox after the trade was made). Fowler stinks.

Barnes: .347/.402/.453, also a top defensive OF

Lyles: 5-0, 2.66 ERA, 1.086 WHIP, 157 ERA+



LUHNOW DA BEST. STROSWAGON.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Coors might help Barnes.

Thanked.

So Luhnow, the genius, trades a 23 year old starting pitcher under team control until 2018, and a cheap OF under team control until 2019, for an established bum who makes over $7M and will likely make over $10M next year.

#smrtbaseball? Is this the right meme? I guess Luhnow doesn't walk on water after all.

 

[Villain]

Barnes has a 1.055 OPS at Coors, 0.659 everywhere else.

:iseeu:

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Thanked.

So Luhnow, the genius, trades a 23 year old starting pitcher under team control until 2018, and a cheap OF under team control until 2019, for an established bum who makes over $7M and will likely make over $10M next year.

#smrtbaseball? Is this the right meme? I guess Luhnow doesn't walk on water after all.

Everyone is allowed a bum trade every once in a while. I saw this as a good move, but probably because it was actually the Astros making a move. Keep bumping throughout the year and see what happens.

 

[MVPete]

Barnes is a 4th OFer at best and Lyles a 5th starter. This trade didn't make sense for either team when it went down, might of had a little something to do with MLBPA telling the Astros they'll be monitoring their spending habits.

 

[NAHSTE]

:lol:

It's May 11.

 

[Youk]

Barnes is a 4th OFer at best and Lyles a 5th starter. This trade didn't make sense for either team when it went down, might of had a little something to do with MLBPA telling the Astros they'll be monitoring their spending habits.

^ this

 

[Woy]

:lol:

It's May 11.

Exactly, too early to make judgments. Come back to me in May of 2017 when Luhnow and the Astros are trying to defend their World Series title.

 

[Goober]

Barnes is a 4th OFer at best and Lyles a 5th starter. This trade didn't make sense for either team when it went down, might of had a little something to do with MLBPA telling the Astros they'll be monitoring their spending habits.

Is this serious? I don't remember. If I were an owner, I would tell the MLBPA to eat a bag of dicks if they were unhappy with the money I was spending.

 

[Youk]

Is this serious? I don't remember. If I were an owner, I would tell the MLBPA to eat a bag of dicks if they were unhappy with the money I was spending.

It is serious. The Astros have publicly told them that they refuse to change their team's course. However, with a payroll hovering around $30 million last year, I'm sure they got rid of a couple players that were not key pieces to the future in order to have the MLBPA back off. Funny enough though, I did read that the payroll additions didn't convince the MLBPA that they were legitimately trying to win and spend as much as they could.

Anyways, right now it looks like a good trade, but let's hold judgment for a bit to see how long this lasts.

 

[NAHSTE]

I remember my first time thinking a replacement level player on the Rockies was for real 6 weeks into the season.

 

[NAHSTE]

So Luhnow, the genius, trades a 23 year old starting pitcher under team control until 2018, and a cheap OF under team control until 2019, for an established bum who makes over $7M and will likely make over $10M next year.

Fowler has reached in 18 straight and is currently slashing .271/.378/.394. That's good for a 121 wRC+, .348 wOBA, and pretty close to his career (.269/.366/.421) and 2013 figures (.263/.369/.407).

#productofcoors though amirite

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Is this serious? I don't remember. If I were an owner, I would tell the MLBPA to eat a bag of dicks if they were unhappy with the money I was spending.

The Astros are defrauding the city, the fans, the league, and are also involved in a cable TV dispute.

This is also not the first time the owner has been involved in fraudulent activity.

What they are doing is unethical, and has been for three or four years. Why MLB hasn't made a move to remove the entire ownership group & braintrust is beyond my understanding. Aside from the dirty business, the Astros tanking has influenced pennant races and is bad for competitive balance.