When we signed Dewitt Anderson to a one year contract I was hoping that under the best case scenario he'd be able to eat innings until the trade deadline, stay healthy, and I'd be able to move him in a deal before the deadline. The veteran has pitched well, and when we shopped him around the Expos offered 1B Aleixo Sancho. Sancho isn't the perfect player, he's about to hit arbitration for the first time, his defense isn't great, but he does have power. We also asked for RF Chris John, a 23 year old, and the Expos agreed if we included 20 year old left fielder Daniel Shields.
That wasn't the only deal for the Astros, as we sent right fielder David Cooper to the Rangers in exchange for reliever Jian-gang Hsia. Both were on expiring contracts, and Hsia shouldn't have gotten too comfortable, because he was included in a much bigger deal after appearing in three games.
Going to Vancouver along with Hsia is our ace Cesar Lamberts (11-7, 2.75), closer John Christensen (1-4, 20 SV, 1.40), 1B Matt Coker, and center field prospect Marvin Heidelberger.
Coming back to Houston is SP prospect Victor Gonzales, shortstop prospect Jimmy Henderson, closer Arthur Harrington (3-5, 23 SV, 1.51 ERA), reliever Andrew Ford (1-1, 4.41 ERA), and 25 year old 3B prospect Harvey Logan.
It's a big deal, and we shed a lot of future salary in Coker, and get back a top 50 pitching prospect who appears to be ready for the majors. We'll also give Ford a chance in our rotation, while Jimmy Henderson is an interesting prospect. Short term this deal hurts us, but this rids us of all of the big contracts that we inherited, and gives us an opportunity to build the team how I want.
The Astros also dabbled in the International Amateur market, signing 16 year old starting pitcher Pedro Alvarez to a $1.5 million bonus, and catcher Jorge Crespo to a $8.8 million bonus.
