Roster moves

[cougar]

Per the GM in the postgame presser:

Cash, Daigle, Sullivan DFA'd

Castro, Bourgeois, Chris Johnson brought up.

Let the youth movement commence?

ETA: As a follow up, Mills stated that Castro will get "the lion's share" of time behind the plate, and Chris Johnson will get "a big part" of the time at 3rd.

[Bench]

It will be interesting to see how limited Feliz's role becomes.

[OregonStrosFan]

Surprised to see Cash DFAd today with Q having just received 6(?) stitches.

[OregonStrosFan]

It will be interesting to see how limited Feliz's role becomes.

Per Adam Wexler (via Twitter): 

Brad Mills said Jason Castro will get the lions' share of the starts moving forward. Says same is true for Chris Johnson at 3B

[Ron Brand]

Weird moment in the postgame when they went to the dressing room and talked to Q for a moment, then asked him about Cash being DFA'd and Castro coming up. He didn't know anything about it and didn't know what changes would happen. Sad to be on this side of it and see that, he's worked so hard to start and has played better this year than in the past. I hope Castro is demonstrably The Man, and that Johnson is too.

[austro]

Cash, Daigle, Sullivan DFA'd

Castro, Bourgeois, Chris Johnson brought up.

Wow. Tal off the ropes with the body slam of Pam.

[David in Jackson]

It will be interesting to see how limited Feliz's role becomes.

The Feliz signing is one of Wade's worst.

[Andyzipp]

The Feliz signing is one of Wade's worst.

A one year 4.5 million dollar contract for a position with a huge gap for 2010 is bad how?

The signing was fine.  His performance has been below expectations.

[roadrunner]

Well this team just became slightly watchable.

[Noe]

It's about time!  About a month later than I expected, but this is the move that should be made.  Welcome to the bench crew Pedro!

[chuck]

It's about time!  About a month later than I expected, but this is the move that should be made.  Welcome to the bench crew Pedro!

Really? It's about a month before I thought the moves would be made. I certainly hope Jason and Chris can see some success this season and give us all some $1.50 Wal-Mart peanuts but I especially like their bringing up Bourgeois. I love Bogey, of course, but I read their bringing up Bourgeois as a clear indication to Bourn that his striking out on a pace that would embarrass Hunter Pence is simply not acceptable, especially from a leadoff guy with literally zero power.

[remy]

Express didn't seem to have any problems with the missing players tonight!  I don't think I've ever seen them hit so many home runs in one game.

[Wild Dog]

Of the 3 DFA'd, who do you think will pass through waivers and accept an assignment to Round Rock and who might be brought up from Corpus?

[Leeaire]

Bout time. Now I'm excited to see how these guys play up in the bigs.

[austro]

Of the 3 DFA'd, who do you think will pass through waivers and accept an assignment to Round Rock and who might be brought up from Corpus?

I imagine that all three of them will pass through waivers. But I have no idea whether any will accept Round Rock assignments.

[Reuben]

With Daigle going and only position players coming, are they now down to an 11-man pitching staff, or had they been carrying 13 already? Maybe they're trying to work out a trade of Feliz, and would then call up another pitcher?

[94CougarGrad]

With Daigle going and only position players coming, are they now down to an 11-man pitching staff, or had they been carrying 13 already? Maybe they're trying to work out a trade of Feliz, and would then call up another pitcher?

Brownie stated at some point during the game that Mills'd announced his intention last week or so to NOT continue to carry 13 pitchers after this weekend.

[Reuben]

Brownie stated at some point during the game that Mills'd announced his intention last week or so to NOT continue to carry 13 pitchers after this weekend.

Thanks, I had missed all that.

[Mr. Happy]

I guess that if Fulchino doesn't turn it around soon, he would be next to go?

[JimR]

The Feliz signing is one of Wade's worst.

Bull.Shit.

[Tralfaz]

Any word on Lyles being moved up to Round Rock?

[GreatBagwellsBeard]

Really? It's about a month before I thought the moves would be made. I certainly hope Jason and Chris can see some success this season and give us all some $1.50 Wal-Mart peanuts but I especially like their bringing up Bourgeois. I love Bogey, of course, but I read their bringing up Bourgeois as a clear indication to Bourn that his striking out on a pace that would embarrass Hunter Pence is simply not acceptable, especially from a leadoff guy with literally zero power.

Oh, bullshit.  I agree that Bourn's a free-swinger, but he's actually on pace for fewer K's than he had last year, plus his walks are up.  Bourgeois' call-up is no more a signal to Bourn than it is to Junction Jack.

[David in Jackson]

A one year 4.5 million dollar contract for a position with a huge gap for 2010 is bad how?

The signing was fine.  His performance has been below expectations.

I think when you sign a player whose OPS (there, I said it) has gone down six years in a row you ought to have an idea what to expect.  A one-year deal shows Wade knew it was a stop gap, but he's been no better than Johnson would have been and I think Wade should have known that.  This has proven to be no year for stop gaps.

[Ron Brand]

I don't think anyone expected Feliz to hit all that much but there was the anticipation that there would be some power involved whenever he did connect. The real disappointment to me has been his defense, it seems to be a lot spottier than advertised although he's made some nice plays lately.

Sending Johnson down was no doubt a tough call but he needed the regular playing time and I don't think anybody thought he was major-league ready by the time they were shopping for a third baseman in the offseason. It was a $4.5MM chance when the team didn't have many real options at hand. Maybe CJ is ready now. I hope he is.

[MusicMan]

The real disappointment to me has been his defense, it seems to be a lot spottier than advertised although he's made some nice plays lately.

This is the issue.  His defense has been subpar, not GG quality.  His play on the bunt in Saturday's game was gawdawful.

[VirtualBob]

Any word on Lyles being moved up to Round Rock?

I doubt that will happen ... My bet is that they let him dominate and work on pitches all year, then give him a cup of coffee in Houston after the end of the TL season.  Then he will (probably) end up in RR for 2011 (at least until he shows he can dominate that level).

[pots]

Welcome to the majors Jason Castro.  First up, Lincecum.

[Navin R Johnson]

FYI, Castro faced Lincecum in college.   Went 1-3 off him.   

http://www.gostanford.com/sports/m-basebl/stats/2005-2006/051206.html

[pots]

FYI, Castro faced Lincecum in college.   Went 1-3 off him.   

http://www.gostanford.com/sports/m-basebl/stats/2005-2006/051206.html

Plus a walk no less.  Lefties are hitting 60-70 points higher off of Lincecum this year.

Given his first and last job is catching Roy, I imagine that anything he might do off of Lincecum is gravy.

[Ron Brand]

1. Catch Roy.
2. Avoid batter's bats.
3. Everything else is gravy.

[JaneDoe]

Geez, wonder if Roy is gonna complain about having the rook catch him?

[Ron Brand]

Geez, wonder if when Roy is gonna complain about having the rook catch him?

FIFY

[JaneDoe]

I don't think anyone expected Feliz to hit all that much but there was the anticipation that there would be some power involved whenever he did connect. The real disappointment to me has been his defense, it seems to be a lot spottier than advertised although he's made some nice plays lately.

Sending Johnson down was no doubt a tough call but he needed the regular playing time and I don't think anybody thought he was major-league ready by the time they were shopping for a third baseman in the offseason. It was a $4.5MM chance when the team didn't have many real options at hand. Maybe CJ is ready now. I hope he is.

"C.J. has been victimized by some health issues," Wade said. "We had him earmarked to be our third baseman at some point last season, but he had the hand issue at Triple-A and that slowed him down. He kind of swung the bat well there and played good defense. We brought him up here to show him what he's capable of."

[Ron Brand]

Ed Wade, upon the signing of Pedro Feliz in December 2009:

''Chris will certainly get a chance to compete and we think he has a solid big league future,'' Wade wrote. ''But we believe Feliz brings, at the very least, some short-term certainty to the position. Chris won't be the first prospect who was given more time to develop, if necessary.''

[David in Jackson]

The very least ended up being even less.

http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2010/03/13/pedro-feliz-houston/

[Limey]

1. Catch Roy.
2. Avoid batter's bats.
3. Everything else is gravy.

1.  Collect underpants
2. 
3>  Make money.

[roadrunner]

It seems like Wade shoots around 50% with his moves.

[JimR]

ah, frontrunner is back.

[roadrunner]

ah, frontrunner is back.

zing

[jester9450]

I hope these young guys can give the team so kind of spark

[AtascAstro]

I hope these young guys can give the team so kind of spark

Actually, now I don't even care if they win although it would be nice.  Now, the development of young players is the story and this year's games are simply the context.

[Uncle Charlie]

Sure hope "lion's share" includes Friday night (for personal reasons).  In either case, it makes it more interesting to watch them on a night to night basis.  I hope there are indications from media & here as to how the staff likes Castro vs. how they didn't like Towles.  Speaking of Towels, wonder if he gets moved up to RR?

[Navin R Johnson]

Sure hope "lion's share" includes Friday night (for personal reasons).    Speaking of Towels, wonder if he gets moved up to RR?

When is he due back from injury?  He has been out for over a month now.

[Bench]

Per FooterTweet:      Cash and Daigle accepted their Minor League assignments while Sullivan has elected free agency.

[MusicMan]

Per FooterTweet:      Cash and Daigle accepted their Minor League assignments while Sullivan has elected free agency.

I'm sure teams will be knocking down Sullivan's door.

[Ty in Tampa]

Per FooterTweet:      Cash and Daigle accepted their Minor League assignments while Sullivan has elected free agency to take the rest of the summer off.

[Randy Watson]

A one year 4.5 million dollar contract for a position with a huge gap for 2010 is bad how?

The signing was fine.  His performance has been below expectations.

It's about what I expected from a washed up player that never was very good to begin with.  But it's just a one year deal.  Considering the Astros' resources are somewhat finite, I would have rather spent the cash on player development.

[JimR]

It's about what I expected from a washed up player that never was very good to begin with.  But it's just a one year deal.  Considering the Astros' resources are somewhat finite, I would have rather spent the cash on player development.

Damn, why are you not in charge, being so smart and all?

[Andyzipp]

It's about what I expected from a washed up player that never was very good to begin with.  But it's just a one year deal.  Considering the Astros' resources are somewhat finite, I would have rather spent the cash on player development.

Feliz's signing didn't prevent the Astros from drafting anyone.

Rather, Feliz was signed because the Astros didn't develop a player to field that position.

[Bench]

Feliz's signing didn't prevent the Astros from drafting anyone.

Rather, Feliz was signed because the Astros didn't develop a player to field that position.

He didn't say how he was going to spend the money on player development. 

New marble whirlpools in every minor league facility!

[pots]

He didn't say how he was going to spend the money on player development.  

New marble whirlpools in every minor league facility!

...in video games you just allot money to player development.  Much easier that way.

[Duman]

Let's go back over who was available:

Adrian Beltre - 1 year 10 mil having a great year. (too rich for our budget)
Chone Figgins -4 year 36 million hittign .231 on the year so far. (too rich and long term for our budget)
Mark DeRosa - 2 years 12 millino hitting .194 when went on the DL (too rich for our budget)
Placido Polanco -3 years 18 million, having a solid year in Philly (too rich & long term for our budget)
Miguel Tejada - 1 year 6 million, hitting .273 with 4 HR (been there and paid that)
Garret Adkins - 1 year/ 4.5million, hitting .219 in spot play at 1st & DH (serious decline in 09 was a high risk signing)
Pedro Feliz - 1 year/4.5 million, hitting .220 with 2 HR (historically a good glove descent bat)
Troy Glaus -1 year 1.75 million, hitting .276 with 14 HR as a 1st baseman  (Don't need a 1st baseman - but this appears to be a great signing for the Braves)
Melvin Mora -1 year, 1.25 million, hitting .257 with 0 HR in COLORADO. (in decline)
Joe Crede - Still a free agent (No comment)

So with the budget that was available and the market rate, who would you have signed.  Keep in mind that the first 5 where either type A or B free agents and might have required the loss of a draft pick which would have impacted player development.

[JimR]

Let's go back over who was available:

Adrian Beltre - 1 year 10 mil having a great year. (too rich for our budget)
Chone Figgins -4 year 36 million hittign .231 on the year so far. (too rich and long term for our budget)
Mark DeRosa - 2 years 12 millino hitting .194 when went on the DL (too rich for our budget)
Placido Polanco -3 years 18 million, having a solid year in Philly (too rich & long term for our budget)
Miguel Tejada - 1 year 6 million, hitting .273 with 4 HR (been there and paid that)
Garret Adkins - 1 year/ 4.5million, hitting .219 in spot play at 1st & DH (serious decline in 09 was a high risk signing)
Pedro Feliz - 1 year/4.5 million, hitting .220 with 2 HR (historically a good glove descent bat)
Troy Glaus -1 year 1.75 million, hitting .276 with 14 HR as a 1st baseman  (Don't need a 1st baseman - but this appears to be a great signing for the Braves)
Melvin Mora -1 year, 1.25 million, hitting .257 with 0 HR in COLORADO. (in decline)
Joe Crede - Still a free agent (No comment)

So with the budget that was available and the market rate, who would you have signed.  Keep in mind that the first 5 where either type A or B free agents and might have required the loss of a draft pick which would have impacted player development.

do not inject facts into this. he's on a roll.

[S.P. Rodriguez]

do not inject facts into this. he's on a roll.

Wasn't Bagwell available to play 3B left-handed?

eta: sarcasm aside, I suspect he would have favored CJ.  The problem is CJ had a minor injury at the start of the year, so who steps in?  BLUM? 

Personally, I think Feliz is a pro.  He's not getting results but I don't have an issue with the signing.  He's just looking at the next phase of his career, bench player.  It happens. You can't avoid risk in building a ML roster.

[HudsonHawk]

I would have rather spent the cash on player development.

Gee, how much cash *did* you spend on Feliz?

[Hatin Drayton]

THIS IS SO STUPID! ANY ONE WITH HALF A BRAIN COULD SEE THAT FELIZ WAS DONE ALL THE WAY BACK IN 2008!  EVERYONE KNOWS THIS!  JUST LOOK AT HIS OPS!

BUT NO!!!!!! DRAYTON'S TOO DAMN CHEAP AND ED WADE IS DUMB AND WE SHOULD TRADE KEPPINGER, OVBIOUSLY!

[JimR]

THIS IS SO STUPID! ANY ONE WITH HALF A BRAIN COULD SEE THAT FELIZ WAS DONE ALL THE WAY BACK IN 2008!  EVERYONE KNOWS THIS!  JUST LOOK AT HIS OPS!

BUT NO!!!!!! DRAYTON'S TOO DAMN CHEAP AND ED WADE IS DUMB AND WE SHOULD TRADE KEPPINGER, OVBIOUSLY!

go fuck yourself. you're gone.

[Lurch]

go fuck yourself. you're gone.

Location: "Voice of Reason"

This smells like an inside job

[Hornstros]

woulda scored more points in my book had the handle been 'Hayton Drayton'

[Randy Watson]

Damn, why are you not in charge, being so smart and all?

Yeah, it really blindsided me that a 35 year old third baseman who over the last 5 years has had a sub .300 on base percentage might not be the best signing in the world at $4.5 million. 

You can spend money on player development, be it this year or holding it back for some other year.  We just signed a couple Dominican kids to fairly large bonuses.  We could have used the cash to go over slot in the draft for a player who was talented but a signing risk.   Or Drayton could have used the money to lower the price of hot dogs for all I care.  But why sign a guy like Feliz to a team that -- as was obvious to anyone with a shred of intelligence -- was years away from competing for a championship?

[Ron Brand]

THIS IS SO STUPID! ANY ONE WITH HALF A BRAIN COULD SEE THAT FELIZ WAS DONE ALL THE WAY BACK IN 2008!  EVERYONE KNOWS THIS!  JUST LOOK AT HIS OPS!

BUT NO!!!!!! DRAYTON'S TOO DAMN CHEAP AND ED WADE IS DUMB AND WE SHOULD TRADE KEPPINGER, OVBIOUSLY!

To quote Kevin Spacey as John Doe, "I didn't do that."

[Ron Brand]

Yeah, it really blindsided me that a 35 year old third baseman who over the last 5 years has had a sub .300 on base percentage might not be the best signing in the world at $4.5 million. 

You can spend money on player development, be it this year or holding it back for some other year.  We just signed a couple Dominican kids to fairly large bonuses.  We could have used the cash to go over slot in the draft for a player who was talented but a signing risk.   Or Drayton could have used the money to lower the price of hot dogs for all I care.  But why sign a guy like Feliz to a team that -- as was obvious to anyone with a shred of intelligence -- was years away from competing for a championship?

You are combining two different arguments to prop up your point, but the fact is that they felt they did not have an acceptable alternative in Johnson at the time of the signing of Feliz, and the other alternatives available were no better. Yes, it would have been nice to have better drafts and maybe they'd have found a third basemen in one of those drafts but that wasn't the problem. The problem was, "Hey, we need someone to play third. Who can we get? CJ isn't ready yet." The answer was Feliz or worse, or alternatives that would cost too much.

[JimR]

Yeah, it really blindsided me that a 35 year old third baseman who over the last 5 years has had a sub .300 on base percentage might not be the best signing in the world at $4.5 million. 

You can spend money on player development, be it this year or holding it back for some other year.  We just signed a couple Dominican kids to fairly large bonuses.  We could have used the cash to go over slot in the draft for a player who was talented but a signing risk.   Or Drayton could have used the money to lower the price of hot dogs for all I care.  But why sign a guy like Feliz to a team that -- as was obvious to anyone with a shred of intelligence -- was years away from competing for a championship?

WFW, genius. answer Duman.

what team do you work for?

[Ty in Tampa]

Yeah, it really blindsided me that a 35 year old third baseman who over the last 5 years has had a sub .300 on base percentage might not be the best signing in the world at $4.5 million. 

You can spend money on player development, be it this year or holding it back for some other year.  We just signed a couple Dominican kids to fairly large bonuses.  We could have used the cash to go over slot in the draft for a player who was talented but a signing risk.   Or Drayton could have used the money to lower the price of hot dogs for all I care.  But why sign a guy like Feliz to a team that -- as was obvious to anyone with a shred of intelligence -- was years away from competing for a championship?

You're obviously light years ahead of even the best baseball minds alive today. What the fuck are you doing here?

[matadorph]

The armchair GMs bitching about the Feliz acquisition ignore the obvious--the lack of offensive production is less about Feliz than Berkman, Lee, and Pence.

Assuming for the sake of argument that Wade decided against Feliz, the other options weren't that great anyway. He could've realistically gone after Kelly Johnson or Felipe Lopez for the same price or less, but neither guy has done enough to make me wonder what could have been. Feliz was signed primarily as a veteran presence and a defensive stopper at the hot corner; as others have already mentioned, the biggest disappointment isn't his lack of production at the plate but his defense at third.

[MusicMan]

The armchair GMs bitching about the Feliz acquisition ignore the obvious--the lack of offensive production is less about Feliz than Berkman, Lee, and Pence.

I was thinking about this... if you were to tell Wade that these three would perform as they have, he likely would have curled into a little ball and cried, because no amount of roster tinkering can fix that.

[Ron Brand]

The armchair GMs bitching about the Feliz acquisition ignore the obvious--the lack of offensive production is less about Feliz than Berkman, Lee, and Pence.

Assuming for the sake of argument that Wade decided against Feliz, the other options weren't that great anyway. He could've realistically gone after Kelly Johnson or Felipe Lopez for the same price or less, but neither guy has done enough to make me wonder what could have been. Feliz was signed primarily as a veteran presence and a defensive stopper at the hot corner; as others have already mentioned, the biggest disappointment isn't his lack of production at the plate but his defense at third.

And even at that, he was just a one-year option. He was signed for some stability until Johnson was ready, or something else shook loose. Feliz was not a multi-year plan.

[Hornstros]

The Lyon deal seemed more questionable during the offseason than the Feliz deal did....at the time most people were bitching about the Lyon deal

Now Lyon is playing great and Feliz is not....now people are bitching about the Feliz deal.   Hindsight is 20/20

[jaklewein]

Yeah, it really blindsided me that a 35 year old third baseman who over the last 5 years has had a sub .300 on base percentage might not be the best signing in the world at $4.5 million. 

You can spend money on player development, be it this year or holding it back for some other year.  We just signed a couple Dominican kids to fairly large bonuses.  We could have used the cash to go over slot in the draft for a player who was talented but a signing risk.   Or Drayton could have used the money to lower the price of hot dogs for all I care.  But why sign a guy like Feliz to a team that -- as was obvious to anyone with a shred of intelligence -- was years away from competing for a championship?

For all I know, they decided to sign Feliz rather than Beltre and take that money and put it into player development.  Point is, you don't know, so why judge?

[Duman]

Yeah, it really blindsided me that a 35 year old third baseman who over the last 5 years has had a sub .300 on base percentage might not be the best signing in the world at $4.5 million. 

You can spend money on player development, be it this year or holding it back for some other year.  We just signed a couple Dominican kids to fairly large bonuses.  We could have used the cash to go over slot in the draft for a player who was talented but a signing risk.   Or Drayton could have used the money to lower the price of hot dogs for all I care.  But why sign a guy like Feliz to a team that -- as was obvious to anyone with a shred of intelligence -- was years away from competing for a championship?

1.  Your assuming Feliz was signed for his bat. Go back and look what was said about him. Defense first then run producer.

2. You speak as if there is less risk in player development.  Throw money at young prospects.  That has much more risk.  Case in point:  In 2005 the Astros spent 4.084 million on the top 10 rounds of the 2005 draft.  So far one player Tommy Manzella has made it to the bigs.  Only 3 others out of the 10 signed (out of 12 picks) are still in the system (Brian Bog (1), Brandon Barnes (6) and Koby Clemens ().  One was traded for a roster filler who is no longer with the org. 

[Duman]

The Lyon deal seemed more questionable during the offseason than the Feliz deal did....at the time most people were bitching about the Lyon deal

Now Lyon is playing great and Feliz is not....now people are bitching about the Feliz deal.   Hindsight is 20/20

And on this board people didn't like the Myers signing but it has worked out pretty well.

[Hornstros]

And on this board people didn't like the Myers signing but it has worked out pretty well.

I remember that....seemed like it was the character issues that bothered some folks if memory serves

[Andyzipp]

I remember that....seemed like it was the character issues that bothered some folks if memory serves

No one who was questioning signing Myers because of character has left that position from what I have seen.

He's been a great addition to the rotation. He very likely is still a douche.

[MusicMan]

No one who was questioning signing Myers because of character has left that position from what I have seen.

He's been a great addition to the rotation. He very likely is still a douche.

It's also been easily the best season of his career so far.

[hostros7]

He very likely is still a douche.

His goatee concurs.

[Noe]

It's also been easily the best season of his career so far.

I seem to remember someone coming in here in late January and saying that Myers would have a 15 win season this year and an ERA under 3.  All this from the number three spot in the rotation (my guess was the kid thought Oswalt and Rodriquez would be doing better than 15 wins and better than an ERA under 3).  Any way, same Hot Stove prognosticator (was it VOR?) said that the defense on the left side would be great too.  It's okay, sometimes really good, most of the time a little above average... but great?  Don't think so.

[subnuclear]

Here's that glorious thread for reference :

http://www.spikesnstars.com/forums/index.php?topic=110085.0

[Mr. Happy]

Granted, the Feliz signing hasn't worked out, and there were certainly some advance signs that it wouldn't. However, it seems awfully unfair to pillory Wade when he had very little budget to work with and there was NO VIABLE ALTERNATIVE TO CJ, WHO THEY WEREN'T SURE WAS READY. Got it? I'd be willing to wager the house that you same frontrunners who want to second guess Wade would be cooing up a storm if it had worked out famously. I give the organization credit for going ahead and bringing up CJ and sitting Feliz for a few days.

Thank you. That is all.

[Ron Brand]

Here's that glorious thread for reference :

http://www.spikesnstars.com/forums/index.php?topic=110085.0

That made my stomach churn. Again.

[Hornstros]

No one who was questioning signing Myers because of character has left that position from what I have seen.

He's been a great addition to the rotation. He very likely is still a douche.

I wasn't saying they have changed their position.   I thought there was a fear he might be a cancer in the clubhouse at the time he was signed

[MusicMan]

That made my stomach churn. Again.

All that was missing was SNL-Connery saying "I like to start them off with a nice open handed slap."

[Andyzipp]

All that was missing was SNL-Connery saying "I like to start them off with a nice open handed slap."

I'll take the Penis Mightier, Trebek.

[MusicMan]

I'll take the Penis Mightier, Trebek.

The Rapists, Trabek.