Bringing back a familiar (psychotic) face!
The Astros have traded RHP Brad Peacock to the St. Louis Cardinals for reliever, and former Astro, Ken Giles.
Peacock was in his last season of arbitration and will be a free agent at season's end. He has been bouncing back and forth as the Astros #4 or #5 starter and a bullpen role over the last couple of seasons. He had a solid year last year with a 3.42 ERA in 14 starts before injuries shortened his season in June (rotator cuff strain) and then ended his season in August (surgery to remove scar tissue in shoulder).
Giles has electric stuff at times when his control is on. When he's off, he gets rocked. But his potential for being a shutdown reliever is well documented. His seasons in 2014 & 2015 with Philadelphia and the 2017 regular season with the Astros were all star caliber. He's most likely best known for his earl 2018 outburst in which he punched himself in the face walking off the field at Minute Maid Park after being pulled from a relief appearance.
Giles was not tendered a qualifying offer from Toronto and was a free agent this offseason. The Astros made a late push for him before signing Trevor May. Giles went with the Cardinals offer of 3 years and $7M (total). The Astros offered more money (around $10M) for 2 years but were spurned because they didn't promise him the closer's role.
Time will tell whether this will be worth the risk.
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