Dissecting The Jose Valverde Trade

I like the move, also, for the 'Stros. I know that it seems that Wade has depleted the pitching staff, but watching a lot of these guys late last year, some of them needed to go. Since 2005, I have watched the Astros continuously struggle to score runs, and I feel that Wade has addressed that. I do feel that Bourn and Matsui will have to live up to billing, but if Pence can continue his work, followed by average seasons from Berkman, Lee, and Tejada, with Towles and Wigginton throwing in a few good hits, this team should take the pressure off of its pitching staff by scoring a few runs. The problem the last two seasons has been that the pitching staff has had to be too fine and too perfect and the lineup just had too many moving parts. I love the fact that Loretta and Blum are the guys that will fill the holes and provide the rest for the regulars. On limited at bats in the right situations, they can both be a big boost to the lineup and in the clubhouse.

Wade said on the radio that Valverde is a FA after 08. I was sure it was 09. Am I wrong

Well, I guess that pretty much clears the decks of young pitching. I'll say this though For someone who "had no bargaining chips", Ed Wade has managed to get some pretty nice players on this team.

Awesome deal by Wade IMO. Best move for Astros in awhile.

I had my questions about Wade but he has been extremely proactive since joining the Astros.

does anybody know when fernando nieve is supposed to come back from his surgery? i know he had tommy john last year, if he could come back healthy then i think he could be a decent set-up guy

I've been to several DBack games and Valverde seems to be the one player on the field who enjoys baseball the most. He is truly fun to watch and interacts great with the fans.

He is definitely a heart-attack Closer so hold on to your seats. He's no stranger to walking the bases loaded with 1 out before slamming the door with 2 straight K's.

Valverde is VERY up and down year to year in his career, and is a pretty heavy flyball pitcher moving to a heavy hitters park with a short porch

He could be an elite closer in the NL Central, or he could be a bust for 1/2 or more of his time with Houston and turn out to be the 2nd terrible deal Wade has done(Kaz Matsui, wow)

The Astros still have the 3rd or 4th best offense in the division(Brewers, Cubs, Reds possibly) and aren't close to having enough starting pitching to win the division, as well as their overall losses in the BP(Lidge, Qualls, Wheeler went to TB didn't he?) aren't outweighed by Valverde's arrival

The deal for trading away Valverde makes sense. The club already has another closer lined up, and Valverde is at his prime right now. This was about the maximum they could hope to get for him, but i think the Stros got the better deal. They get a great closer for a set of decent prospects. The Diamondbacks get a reliever nowhere close to Valverde, in Chad Qualls. They get a terrible infielder who has a bit or prospect blood left in him. they also get a weak infielder who will never be good. He will be a minor leaguer for ever, and is not worth anything.

Overall, the Diamondbacks have come out well on the day. They get a decent reliever back for Valverde and they end up with an ace. Good job Byrnes, but GET SOME OFFENSE!!!

I don't understand why people think the Diamondbacks did well with this deal. Valverde is a very nasty closer, and when you look at what other teams are asking for closers, they got a bad deal.

Gutierrez is totally unimpressive with mediocre minor league numbers. Chris Burke is just crap. Qualls is fine but has logged a lot of innings the past few years. This is not the kind of deal that I think of when I think of a team cashing out on a fireballing closer.

I have to agree/disagree with some here. As 2008 rolls along, you'll see Qualls as the closer.

Remember who "engineered" this trade...Ed Wade.

I think this will prove to be an excellent pickup for the D'Backs. Qualls is ready to close now. I agree with some that have brought up the point that Valverde is a heart-attack closer. Too many men on base. He was extremely fortunate early in 2007 and racked up several easy saves, padding his stats.

I get the impression Wade will miss Atlantic City, err, Philadelphia. He likes to roll the dice, building a semi-roto team. Why do you sign Jim Thome when Ryan Howard is just a year away? Trade away Schilling for Travis Lee, Vicente Padilla, Omar Daal and Nelson Figueroa. Why trade for Tejada the DAY before the Mitchell report?

I think people are giving the Astros WAY too much credit for this deal. Valverde has high strikeout rates, sure, but he's also overrated because he collected a lot of save baubles. For that Wade gave up three players: one, a useful utility guy; two, a young starter who could be a big league regular; and three; a young reliever who himself is nearly as good as Valverde.

Considering how volatile relievers are, Wade overpaid for a big name in a futile attempt to compete next year. When you also consider that he traded Lidge earlier this offseason, it begins to look purposeless. The Astros just gave a stranger access to every player under their control and told him to go crazy. It won't end well.

"Smart teams don't spend any money on their bullpens, dumb teams do."

Smart people don't make that kind of ignorant comment. You pay for quality, whether it be a starter or reliever. Good closers now get $7M-$10M, as the market bears.