Fowler on the verge of going to Cubbies

[revo]

no word on returns yet

[revo]

Houston beat writer Brian McTaggert confirms Fowler to the Cubs for Dan Straily

[chancellor]

A steal for Houston, IMO

[revo]

A steal for Houston, IMO

Funny, I thought it was a steal for the Cubs. I guess it's an even trade then!

Looks like Luis Valbuena will also head to Houston. Not sure if anything else is going to Chicago.

[whalewang]

It's official, both Valbuena and Straily for Fowler.

[chancellor]

Wow. So Houston deals a 1.5ish WAR guy who's oft injured for a SP with decent upside and a guy who's been a 2+ WAR player two years in a row. Nice.

[whalewang]

Actually, I think it was a good trade for both teams.

[Gregg]

Actually, I think it was a good trade for both teams.

Yep I agree this is good for both teams. Unfortunately I lose a $1 Valbuena in my deep NL only 5x5.

[BigJonEmpire]

Nice trade for Houston, they get to use Marisnick in center now, with either Gattis or Grossman in left.

[revo]

Wow. So Houston deals a 1.5ish WAR guy who's oft injured for a SP with decent upside and a guy who's been a 2+ WAR player two years in a row. Nice.

B-R.com lists Valbuena with a 1.6 WAR in each of the last two seasons, while Fangraphs has him at 2.1 and 2.7. Clearly the Cubs use B-R.com!

Also, dealing him opens the door for Bryant to start his MLB career by early June.....

[TranaGreg]

Well, and Fowler is far from cheap given the production he provides. He's in line for like $10.5 in arbitration, isn't he? That's a pretty poor WAR / $ ratio right there. I'm not so sure that he doesn't have negative value overall. Pretty impressed with Houston's trade. Also pretty sure KS deserves all the credit.

wow. I found that impossible to fathom so had to google it ... you're right, 10.8 is what he asked for ... the stros offered 8.5 ... still a bigger number than I was expecting.

[joncarlos]

What exactly is Houston going to DO with Valbuena? Does this mean the end of Dominguez as a regular? Not that he was any great shakes.

[joncarlos]

Nice trade for Houston, they get to use Marisnick in center now, with either Gattis or Grossman in left.

I assume they'll go with Springer in CF, Gattis in LF, and the Marisnick/Grossman platoon in RF with Carter/Singleton at DH/1B.

[Kevin Seitzer]

Here is what the GM said. If you read the attached articles, pay close attention to what the GM says and not what the writer gives as his personal speculation. The writer is not very good at clearly identifying the difference between the two. I'd pay attention to the former and ignore the latter.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/106822218/astros-deal-dexter-fowler-to-cubs-for-luis-valbuena-dan-straily

"One of the things I said going into this offseason is we had options at third, short and first so we need improve our performance coming out of those positions," Luhnow said. "With Luis being a left-handed hitter and Matt being a right-handed hitter, you could see both of them sharing that position or some other configuration. It gives us options. Valbuena is a proven Major League bat who can play premium positions, so we're excited."

"It's something [manager] A.J. [Hinch] and the staff is going to have to work through," Luhnow said. "Marisnick is a natural center fielder, and it's possible he's our Opening Day center fielder. Who knows? I think it's nice having guys with versatility."

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/106530732/evan-gattis-ready-to-hit-the-ground-hitting-for-houston-astros

While Gattis has spent more time at catcher than any other position, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow has said being in an AL lineup will allow the Astros to use Gattis differently. They can plug him in at designated hitter, as well as at first base and catcher.

[SlideRule]

So the Astros will be following the A's into the brave new world of platoonedness? Seems to be the hot new thing these days.