Houston Astros Baseball

Ed Wade's Performance So Far

My take on Houston Astros GM Ed Wade's performance so far.

In the brief couple of months Ed Wade has shown us exactly what his priorities are and how he will go about addressing them. I have heard that he is being very vocal about his potential moves because he wants to appear busy. I would disagree with this statement because I truly be that Wade is trying to improve our team at any position. With the relatively few trading chips The Astros actually have, Wade was able to solve a couple of issues.

Going into this off-season, Wade had several apparent needs.

Needs:
1)A new CF
2)Bullpen help
3)Starting Pitching
4)A solid 2B

So far, Wade has addressed those top two priorities and done so in a very strong way. Let me explain. Wade has traded away our most prized trading chip, 1 year from a somewhat shaky Brad Lidge and Bruntlett for 12 combined years from Our new CF, a 3B prospect and bullpen help. It is very clear what Wade is doing here. He expressed the need for youth, speed, and defense, and Wade brought in very young speedy guys; starting with Abercrombie. Most recently he signed outfield prospect Yordany Ramirez. This guy has incredible defense and was wanted by several teams. That acquisition replaced Anderson with a younger better defensive outfielder. While doing all of this, he was able to get a reliable bullpen arm who is also very young. This was all made possible because of the recently hired scouting directors and assistants, it seems that those ties have already come in handy.
With the Acquisition of Villareal and Geary, on paper our bullpen will be substantially better in 2008(assuming a closer is landed). This takes care of number 2 on the list of needs. As far as starting pitching, very little is available in terms of free-agency, and The Astros lack whats needed to trade for a solid #2. This leads me to my next point. With both Ramirez and Abercrombie on the 40-man roster, and a new 2B seeming very likely, a trade involving both Burke and Scott seem like Wade's best bet to land pitching. A trade involving Burke, Scott, and a pitching prospect like Albers would have a good chance of lading a solid arm. With that trade and the addition of a closer, the 2008 Astros may have a chance to shock the world and compete. If Wade can pull this off when most thought it would take several years to accomplish, it would be a very good sign for The Astros. The cherry on top, The Astros have a protected top ten draft pick next year.

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