The Astros sent Carlos Lee to the Marlins for prospects Matt Dominguez and Rob Rasmussen in a deal that was announced earlier today. The trade provides the Marlins with much needed stability at first base and gives the Astros two more young pieces as they continue to build for the the future. Here are some reactions to the deal:
- With the lowest OPS production at first base in the big leagues this season, the Marlins' acquisition of Lee makes for a natural fit given the veteran's reputation as a professional hitter, says Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com (video link).
- Dominguez and Rasmussen may eventually find themselves playing in Houston, but don't look for the duo to develop into stars, writes Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.
- The ceiling for the Astros' newest prospects projects Dominguez as a defensive replacement and Rasmussen coming out of the bullpen, predicts Keith Law of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
- Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow spoke with the Marlins about a potential Lee trade for over a week with conversation intensifying on Wednesday morning, reports Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
- Luhnow says Chris Johnson remains the Astros' third baseman with Dominguez providing insurance for the team given Johnson's health issues, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (on Twitter).
Considering the Astros are paying all of Carlos Lee’s salary. I think the Marlins are the clear winner. The 2 folks Houston received will probably amount to nothing but replacement players
They basically got two players and removed a cancer from their team. Sounds good to me. It can nothing but be a victory.
A ‘cancer’? Really? Carlos Lee was of no use to the Astros going forward. I never heard he was a club house problem and I know he was entrenched in the Houston community.
How on earth was Carlos Lee a cancer? He seemed like a very classy guy from all I’ve seen of him. Also, why choose the Marlins over the Dodgers, does he not like to make playoffs?
Oh well, I know he didn’t make up his mind on the Dodgers trade but he’s still been a good guy throughout his time in Houston. Always went about his job well, didn’t care about moving to 1B and probably extended his career because of it.
How is coming in overweight and out of shape doing your job well? He was a cancer in houston. We tried trading him multiple times and he blocked all of them. The guy put in no effort, and was resented by many players in Houston
It’s a win-win. The Marlins get an upgrade at 1B, and the Astros get rid of some dead weight and get a little something out of it.
I think the Astros are the winners here. I don’t see what the Marlins accomplished.
The Marlins upgraded at 1st base. What did the Astros accomplish?
Marlins are in 4th in a tough division and Lee won’t make a big difference.
Houston who has no delusions about competing this year, get some young talent and open up more places for young players to play so they can better evaluate their future.
Well the Marlins aren’t far from a .500 record and with the addition of the 2nd wild card, anything could happen. Plus, if the Marlins start to go on a prolonged win streak, then they will be right up there with at least the Mets and Braves. Back in 2010, the Giants also were in 4th place come All-Star break with just a 41-40 record and 7.5 games out. They of course ended up winning the NL West and eventually the World Series. Point being, you can never count a team out this early in the year (unless they’re a team lacking in major league talent such as the Cubs and Astros, but that’s a different story).
Hey I’m with you on that logic. I’m not really intending to bash the move, just in the grand scheme of things I think it is sort of inconsequential and for lack of a better term, bizarre, from the Marlins’s standpoint.
Lee won’t make a difference? The Marlins are getting sub-Mendoza production from 1B. How can Lee NOT be an improvement on that?
Sigh. If you think Carlos Lee at this point in his career is going to propel the Marlins past the three teams above them then I don’t know if we can ever really come to any common ground.
carlos lee does nothing for the astros this year, is a defensive liability, and barely a league average hitter.
his contract is a sunk cost the stros would’ve had to pay anyway and the astros had almost no leverage because of his partial NTC.
getting a backup infielder and a potential reliever for lee is a win for the stros.
it was a win-win for both sides.
Not to mention there’s always the chance that either prospect out preforms their expectations even if that chance is small. The Astros know Lee isn’t part of their future the only reason they could have had to hang on to him was if they thought they could get something better for him but they had zero leverage in negotiations with other teams.
And you think Lee will do what for the Marlins? He only hit for “power” in houston because of the short porch in left. You think that power will suddenly re-appear in the marlins park? Granted the 2 guys Houston got aren’t stellar prospects, but dominguez can play 3b. He was a top 100 guy a year ago. Lee will only amount to a one year player for the Marlins. Dominguez will immediately get starts in Houston
funny, he turns down a chance to play for a contender once they get their star player back (dodgers) to go to a team who over payed in the off season to prob finish 4th or last place in the division. maybe he dont want a chance to play for a world series i dont know lol
He didn’t have a choice in the matter with the Marlins, because they weren’t one of the teams on his NTC. The Dodgers were on his NTC.
smh…people just think the worse.
I think he just wanted to stay in Houston. Lee’s no trade clause covered only certain teams; the Dodgers were one and the Marlins weren’t. I have a feeling that if he could have blocked the trade to Miami he would have, but who knows.
Didn’t Matt Dominguez used to be their top prospect? Just goes to show you should quit buying the hype on these prospects before they even do anything. I don’t even think he was that good of a hitter in the minors either to justify his status.
I’m not suggesting trade all prospects but no point in hoarding a ton of them and watching them flame out.
I don’t think Dominguez has ever been the Marlins’ TOP prospect… but he’s been up there. The report on him is “as soon as he figures out how to hit, he’ll be a star.”
He has thus far not figured out how to hit.
I wish this were the first time M. Bison beat me…
Unless you are Herb Washington, that hitting thing is a little important in the game of baseball.
LOL. Or Matt Alexander, his A’s teamate and Pinch running cohort. Nice a few of us keep bring both of those guys up here to “carry the candle” so to speak.
One day there should be some really odd link on the side page for guys like Washington, who never did get a PA.. Yet stole over 30 bases.
I don’t know if he was ever really a “top” prospect but he was near the top of a depleted the Marlin’s farm system at one time, mostly because of his defense which continues to be excellent. I think people held out some hope that he would learn how to hit better but he’s never progressed with the bat. If he could even just put up average offensive numbers he’d still be a useful regular but obviously that’s starting to look less and less likely.
This trade doesn’t make much sense to me for the Marlins. Why get someone for 1B when they could be playing Logan Morrison there? It would help LoMo’s knee and it would boost OPS at 1B since LoMo has actually been doing some batting this year. They should’ve gotten someone who can actually play the outfield, instead of Carlos Lee who most likely won’t be able to play LF. Play LF until Bonifacio gets back, then Bonifacio in CF, Ruggiano in LF, and LoMo at 1B. This Carlos Lee trade doesn’t make much sense. Lee isn’t much of an improvement over Gaby Sanchez anyway.
For the Astros, Dominguez, and Rasmussen, though, makes a lot of sense. Dominguez had no future here, now he has a chance at Houston. Same with Rasmussen.
Carlos Lee will really help drive the Latin Market. For the Marlins, this is a key element and makes their acquisition that much sweeter because it appeases their fan base. It wasn’t long ago that Dominguez was a top prospect for the Marlins. In Houston he will be able to get more of a shot than he would have with MIA since Hanley Ramirez is now their everyday Third baseman for the foreseeable future. Since Houston is paying Lee’s salary and Sanchez wasn’t cutting it at 1st, Lee is a perfect fit with the Marlins.
The Astros got two prospects from the Marlins for 1/2 year of Carlos Lee. My prediction: Lee will retire at the end of this season, or if he continues into 2013 he will become a DH in the AL. If Lee helps the Marlins get into the playoffs, they may be the short term winner of the deal…..if he doesn’t then the Marlins gave up two prospects for nothing. Long term it will depend on how Dominguez and Rasmussen pan out to judge the value of the deal. The Astros opted to get something for Lee rather than nothing when his contract runs out this year and he has said more than once that he may or may not play in 2013.