A's trade Chris Carter+ to Astros for Jed Lowrie

[russ99]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/h...er-deal-020413

This one sticks in my craw a bit as an Astros fan, I thought Lowrie was one of the pieces they had in place to build around.

The other prospects coming back are quality, but Chris Carter actually turning things around and becoming an impact player at age 26 and after 1000 mediocre ABs in AAA is a bit iffy. Seems a desperation move to get a AL power bat.

Sadly, it seems all this really does is punt the rebuild down the road another 2 years.

[mzh]

Carter hit 16 HR in 218 ABs last year. Seems like he's already turned it around quite a bit. No more of a risk than relying on a 29 year old shortstop who's never played more than 97 games as a building block.

[CoopaLoop]

Originally Posted by mzh

Carter hit 16 HR in 218 ABs last year. Seems like he's already turned it around quite a bit. No more of a risk than relying on a 29 year old shortstop who's never played more than 97 games as a building block.

Agreed. By the time the Astros are ready, Lowrie is going to be 32.

[russ99]

Originally Posted by mzh

Carter hit 16 HR in 218 ABs last year. Seems like he's already turned it around quite a bit. No more of a risk than relying on a 29 year old shortstop who's never played more than 97 games as a building block.

Carter hit .239 last year to go with those HRs, but he did have a good OBP. He also averaged .268 in those 1000+ ABs in 4 partial seasons in AAA. Seems to me he's another placeholder just above replacement value 1B/DH/LF like Carlos Pena, Brett Wallace and Fernando Martinez. Lowrie is a good player when healthy.

Sounds like Brad Peacock was the centerpiece of the deal.

[Mohoney]

Originally Posted by russ99

Carter hit .239 last year to go with those HRs, but he did have a good OBP. He also averaged .268 in those 1000+ ABs in 4 partial seasons in AAA. Seems to me he's another placeholder just above replacement value 1B/DH/LF like Carlos Pena, Brett Wallace and Fernando Martinez. Lowrie is a good player when healthy.

Sounds like Brad Peacock was the centerpiece of the deal.

Taking last season's stats into consideration, Chris Carter would project to 35+ HR and 100+ RBI over the course of a full season. If he hit .239 while doing that, it wouldn't matter. If he hit .199 while doing that, it wouldn't matter. Like you said, his OBP was over .350, which would extrapolate to 80-100+ walks.

Assuming that he doesn't get hurt or completely fall apart mentally in a new organization, Chris Carter projects to be one of the premier lefty power hitters in the game, or at least what lefty power hitters used to be before the steroid era.

You rip on Carlos Pena, but his prime seasons would be a welcome addition to just about any lineup in baseball, plus he was well above average with the glove at 1B. Brett Wallace and Fernando Martinez are nothing more than meaningless names that you're tossing out to try and validate your point, and they shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence with a guy like Carlos Pena that has accomplished quite a bit at the major league level.

[russ99]

Originally Posted by Mohoney

Taking last season's stats into consideration, Chris Carter would project to 35+ HR and 100+ RBI over the course of a full season. If he hit .239 while doing that, it wouldn't matter. If he hit .199 while doing that, it wouldn't matter. Like you said, his OBP was over .350, which would extrapolate to 80-100+ walks.

Assuming that he doesn't get hurt or completely fall apart mentally in a new organization, Chris Carter projects to be one of the premier lefty power hitters in the game, or at least what lefty power hitters used to be before the steroid era.

You rip on Carlos Pena, but his prime seasons would be a welcome addition to just about any lineup in baseball, plus he was well above average with the glove at 1B. Brett Wallace and Fernando Martinez are nothing more than meaningless names that you're tossing out to try and validate your point, and they shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence with a guy like Carlos Pena that has accomplished quite a bit at the major league level.

Pena has declined in recent seasons and he's 35 this year. A decent player for an AL club, but not anyone to write home about. IMO, he's there to keep a kid on the farm an extra year or two to ensure proper development. Anything else he brings to the table is a bonus and I'd be overjoyed if he can put up similar numbers that he did a few years ago on the north side.

I've mentioned my disdain for "homer or nothing" poor hitting low-average players on this board before, this is nothing different, and it especially irks me when fans give a pass on the other qualities that makes up a good hitter and assume a player is "good" due the long ball alone.

Chris Carter projects to a cheap poor-man's Adam Dunn at best, with little room for growth at age 26 and too much time in the minors. Hope I'm wrong for the Astros sake, but his entire career in the majors, in AAA and other than a good year at AA proves otherwise. BTW: Wallace and Martinez have similar resume's.

[wilburaga]

Originally Posted by Mohoney

Taking last season's stats into consideration, Chris Carter would project to 35+ HR and 100+ RBI over the course of a full season. If he hit .239 while doing that, it wouldn't matter. If he hit .199 while doing that, it wouldn't matter. Like you said, his OBP was over .350, which would extrapolate to 80-100+ walks.

Assuming that he doesn't get hurt or completely fall apart mentally in a new organization, Chris Carter projects to be one of the premier lefty power hitters in the game, or at least what lefty power hitters used to be before the steroid era.

You rip on Carlos Pena, but his prime seasons would be a welcome addition to just about any lineup in baseball, plus he was well above average with the glove at 1B. Brett Wallace and Fernando Martinez are nothing more than meaningless names that you're tossing out to try and validate your point, and they shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence with a guy like Carlos Pena that has accomplished quite a bit at the major league level.

Carter bats righthanded. Extrapolating his numbers to 162 games is dangerous because he was essentially a platoon player.

[doublem23]

Interesting analysis of this move

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-bi...3Rpb25z;_ylv=3

[CoopaLoop]

Originally Posted by doublem23

Interesting analysis of this move

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-bi...3Rpb25z;_ylv=3

Damn you tricked me into clicking into something that didnt analyze the trade at all.

[ComiskeyBrewer]

Man, this Astros team could have lost 110 games in the NLC next year, possible for them to go for the record in the ALW?

[russ99]

Originally Posted by ComiskeyBrewer

Man, this Astros team could have lost 110 games in the NLC next year, possible for them to go for the record in the ALW?

They're better than last year, and good competition for spots both in MLB and AAA plus Porter making players accountable vs. Mills running the same players out there should be a 10 or so win difference.

I see 100 losses again, but IMO, it's not going to be at a historic level. Also, they've been flooded with young near MLB-level pitching which may keep them in more games.

Hype for losing teams is just as bad as hype for winning teams. Let's see what happens on the field.

[Tragg]

Originally Posted by russ99

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/h...er-deal-020413

This one sticks in my craw a bit as an Astros fan, I thought Lowrie was one of the pieces they had in place to build around.

The other prospects coming back are quality, but Chris Carter actually turning things around and becoming an impact player at age 26 and after 1000 mediocre ABs in AAA is a bit iffy. Seems a desperation move to get a AL power bat.

Sadly, it seems all this really does is punt the rebuild down the road another 2 years.

Lowrie gets hurt too much. Astros aren't ready to win. I like the trade.
And on a side note, what a great trade the Astros made to get Lowrie for that phony "closer" Melancon.

[Hitmen77]

Originally Posted by ComiskeyBrewer

Man, this Astros team could have lost 110 games in the NLC next year, possible for them to go for the record in the ALW?

If they're that bad, too bad for them they're not in the AL Central. 18 games vs. the Sox would probably be good for about 9 wins for Houston.