Astros at the Trade Deadline

Seeing as how this afternoon was the trade deadline (non-waiver trade deadline, anyway) and the point in the season when fans find out if their favorite team is planning a playoff push or is setting up for the future. As for my beloved Houston Astros, they were somewhat busy over the past week and made moves that will set them up for the future (yes, they would be deemed to be "sellers"). First, the organization has finally decided to get rid of Morgan Ensberg. This was a move that was over a year late. I understand that Ensberg was instrumental in our World Series run in 2005, but he was not the same player in the postseason (or the last season and a half) since he was hit on the wrist at the end of the '05 regular season. Prior to that he was at best an average hitter that showed signs of power. This would be satisfactory if the team did not have the likes of Biggio, Everett, Ausmus and the pitcher spot each hitting no better than .250. In order to jettison Ensberg and not have to rely on Mike Lamb, the Astros traded setup man Dan Wheeler to Tampa for Ty Wigginton. Wigginton is a solid .275 hitter with decent power. He was plagued with inconsistent play earlier in his career, but has been a solid addition to Tampa and I believe he will be pretty good for the Astros. Now, people are mad that they traded Wheeler, but lets be honest here. Wheeler was decent, but he would never be anything more than a middle reliever. He was used as a closer and performed terribly. In fact, he hasn't even been that great when relied on in the 8th inning in a hold situation. The Astros need starting pitching more than anything else, so I am fine with getting rid of Wheeler.



As for Ensberg, I am disappointed that the Astros were only able to get a player to be named later for him. I really felt like we could have packaged Ensberg and Chris Burke (together with Lidge) for a guy like Miguel Tejada right after the 2005 season when each were at their peak value. Yes, this was a rumored trade. Unfortunately, as many have heard me argue in the past, the biggest fault of Drayton McLane, Gerry Hunsicker and Tim Purpura and the Astros is that they can be too loyal. They had invested so much in Burke as a replacement to Biggio that they lost sight of the fact that he was a second baseman, which is not that pivotal of a position (and one that doesn't require a guy to hit 25-30 homeruns like the outfield or first and third base). So basically, the Astros traded Ensberg and Wheeler (plus cash considerations) for Ty Wigginton and a player to be named later. That is what we call getting the short end of the stick. Granted, Wigginton could turn into the next Ken Caminiti (sans steroids) and be an all-star for many years and the player to be named later could be an amazing talent. We will have to wait and see if Purpura knows what he is doing or if it becomes time for him and Scrap Iron to go.