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(*) PT TODAY: Giles heads to Houston

PT Today

BaseballHQ

Dec 11 2015 12:07am

(*) PT TODAY: Giles heads to Houston

BaseballHQ

Dec 11 2015

Team-by-team playing time allocation charts can be found in our Teamview pages.

American League \| National League

Astros \| Ken Giles acquired from Philadelphia
The Houston Astros have acquired CL Ken Giles from the Philadelphia Phillies, in exchange for SPs Brett Oberholtzer and Vincent Velasquez and OF Derek Fisher. The deal is pending a physical. Source: FOX 26 Houston - Mark Berman

BHQ take: Giles immediately becomes the bat-missing (11.2 Dom, 15% SwK) high-upside closer HOU had been seeking. He took over the ninth inning in PHI last year after Jonathan Papelbon was dealt to WAS, and didn't miss a beat, saving 15 games and posting a sub-2 ERA in his new role. Luke Gregerson had hardly been a slouch (8.7 Dom, 3.10 ERA, 31 saves) for HOU, but some September bumps worked against him. He likely returns to the setup role he's been more familiar with for most of his career. Velasquez was a high price to pay in terms of potential. But he had yet to secure a rotation spot in HOU; his departure likely keeps Scott Feldman on the team and in the rotation for now. —Jock Thompson

Impact: High
Giles, Kenneth



Angels \| Yunel Escobar dealt to the Angels
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim acquired INF Yunel Escobar from the Washington Nationals in exchange for RP Trevor Gott Thursday, Dec. 10. Source: Los Angeles Times - Mike DiGiovanna

BHQ take: With the Angels looking to fill a third-base hole and upgrade at second-base over Johnny Giavotella, the versatile Escobar at least gives them some flexibility with respect to their next off-season moves. Escobar's career-high $20 R$ value in 2015 was driven by a .314 BA over 535 AB. But this was the first time he'd hit over .258 in the past four seasons, and a 35% h% is an unlikely repeat. Escobar should find enough playing time with LAA to be marginal profitable, but his empty offensive skill set -- 9 HR and 2 SB in 2015 -- suggests there are plenty of better options at both 3B and 2B. —Jock Thompson

Impact: High
Escobar, Yunel



White Sox \| ChiSox acquire Brett Lawrie
The Chicago White Sox have acquired 3B Brett Lawrie from the Oakland Athletics, in exchange for Ps Zack Erwin and J.B. Wendelken. Source: MLB.com

BHQ take: The White Sox filled an immediate need by trading for Brett Lawrie, who will likely become the team's full-time third baseman. The 25-year-old Lawrie had a career-high in home runs (16) and RBI (60) in 2015 as a member of the Oakland A's. More importantly, Lawrie also had a career-high in games played (149) last season after batting injuries throughout most of his career. But, his career-low ct% of 74% and bb% of 5% in 2015 is cause for concern when it comes to xBA. Even so, Lawrie's .263 career batting average will be a welcome improvement on the South Side, where Chicago's third baseman combined to bat .226 in 2015. Plus, with 42 games at 2B, Lawrie will qualify at both 2B and 3B in most leagues, making him valuable where depth is needed. —Alex Beckey

Impact: Med
Lawrie, Brett



Angels \| Craig Gentry signs with Halos
Free-agent OF Craig Gentry (Athletics) signed an undisclosed major league contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Wednesday, Dec. 9. Source: Los Angeles Times - Mike DiGiovanna

BHQ take: A terrific defender, Gentry couldn't get untracked in OAK last year, going 11-for-50 and spending most of the season in the minors. He'll likely take over the roster spot and role of the departed Collin Cowgill as short-side OF platoon, defensive replacement and pinch-runner. Even if Gentry can turn the BA around to something near his career .274 BA vL, he's still likely to get less than 300 AB. But if that happens, Gentry's terrific base-running skills and three seasons with 18 SBs or more make him mildly interesting in deeper leagues. —Jock Thompson

Impact: Med
Gentry, Craig



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National League \| American League

Phillies \| Ken Giles traded to Houston
The Philadelphia Phillies have traded RP Ken Giles to the Houston Astros, in exchange for SPs Brett Oberholtzer and Vincent Velasquez and OF Derek Fisher. The deal is pending a physical. Source: FOX 26 Houston - Mark Berman

BHQ take: Vincent Velasquez is the player who is the most likely of the Phils' new acquisitions to interest fantasy owners in 2016. The 23-year old struck out better than a batter an inning in 56 innings in 2015 while registering a 2.8 Cmd. The Phils will likely give him a chance to win a spot in their rotation at some point in 2016 although there's some chance that they will start him back in Triple-A, the level he skipped on the way to Houston in 2015. Brett Oberholtzer also could start the season in Philadelphia's rotation although his resume is significantly less impressive than Velasquez'. After spending much of 2014 with the Astros, his 2015 season was marked by injuries and a demotion to Triple-A. While with Houston, he had a 4.80 xERA and a poor 1.6 Cmd. Finally Derek Fisher was considered to be one of Houston's top prospects. He split 2015 between Low-A and High-A and had a combined .847 OPS with 31 stolen bases. The Astros thought enough of him to send him to the Arizona Fall League where he had an .821 OPS. Fisher will be discussed in the near future when BaseballHQ.com publishes its Philadelphia Organization Report. —Phil Hertz

Impact: High
Fisher, Derek Joseph
Velasquez, Vincent
Oberholtzer, Brett



Nationals \| Anthony Rendon moving back to hot corner
Washington Nationals 3B Anthony Rendon will move back to third base this season with INF Yunel Escobar traded to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Thursday, Dec. 10. Source: MLB.com - Bill Ladson

BHQ take: In the trade, Washington received minor league reliever Michael Brady and reliever Trevor Gott, who had a 3.02 ERA in 48 innings with the Angels in 2015. Gott, however, only had 27 strikeouts (versus 16 walks) and his xERA was 4.27. Gott did strikeout better than a batter an inning as a minor leaguer and has a mid-90s fastball, so he has considerable upside. Yunel Escobar's departure raises some questions on who will man the middle infield for the Nationals, who already were to lose the services of free agent Ian Desmond. One has to believe Washington will make some more moves, but right now the leading contenders for MI playing time are rookie Trea Turner and veteran Danny Espinosa. Turner, the former Padres first rounder, hit .322 with an .828 OPS and 29 stolen bases in the minors in 2015 before getting a late season call-up. Espinosa had his best xBA since 2010, but that was only .243. He does come with a good power-speed combo. His career PX is 121 and his career Spd is 106. —Phil Hertz

Impact: Med
Gott, Trevor
Turner, Trea
Rendon, Anthony
Espinosa, Danny



Rockies \| Mark Reynolds signs with Rockies
Free-agent 1B Mark Reynolds (Cardinals) signed a one-year, $2.6 million deal plus incentives with the Colorado Rockies Thursday, Dec. 10. Source: CBSSports.com - Jon Heyman

BHQ take: Reynolds has been a reliable power source for most of his career, averaging a HR every 18 AB. Those other 17 AB can be rough, if not counter-productive, with his lifetime .230 BA (and nearly identical xBA) and career contact rate of 64%. This helps to explain why he’s been a nomad recently, with COL becoming his fifth team since the start of the 2013 season. In 2015, Reynolds’ relatively paltry 13 HR were the byproduct of his worst PX/xPX and flyball rates, anathema for a power hitter, although he rebounded somewhat in the second half. He can play either corner position (and even some OF), but expect Reynolds to be the RH complement to LH 1B Ben Paulsen, who had been penciled in as the primary first-sacker replacing free-agent Justin Morneau. Paulsen was homerless in 34 AB vs. lefties in 2015, while Reynolds has a lifetime 166 PX against them. Every power hitter salivates at the thought of playing half his games in Denver, and Reynolds is likely to get a Coors boost as well, but his fantasy owners will be constantly reminded that he’s more miss than mash. —Rob Carroll

Impact: Med
Paulsen, Benjamin
Reynolds, Mark A



Pirates \| Josh Harrison to start at second base
Pittsburgh Pirates INF Josh Harrison is expected to become the team's full-time second baseman, following the trade of Neil Walker to the New York Mets, according to general manager Neal Huntington. INF Jung Ho Kang (leg, knee) will serve as the regular third baseman once he's completely healthy. Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Travis Sawchik

BHQ take: This is how the Pirates envision their infield in 2016 after the trade of Neil Walker. Harrison has more value at 2B, but what fantasy owners really want is a return to 2014 numbers (.315-13-52-18). That likely won't happen, but if he shows a little more pop than 2015 (4 home runs, 77 PX) and keeps his stolen-base total in double-digits, there's still value. As for Kang, he found life in the second half last season (11 homers, 152 PX) but suffered an ugly knee injury late in the season. We'll monitor his rehab to see when he'll be ready to return. —Rick Green

Impact: High
Kang, Jung-ho
Harrison, Josh



Mets \| Asdrúbal Cabrera agrees to terms
The New York Mets have agreed to terms with free-agent SS Asdrúbal Cabrera (Rays) on a two-year deal worth $18.5 million, with a team option for a third year. Source: New York Post - Ken Davidoff

BHQ take: Asdrubel Cabrera will apparently get the bulk of the starts at shortstop for the 2016 New York Mets. On the surface, Cabrera appeared to experience a bit of a revival in 2015, as his batting average rose from .241 to .265; however, much of that was likely the result of a rise in his H% from 28% to 31%. His xBA and PX scores were virtually the same in 2014 and 2015 and his xPX was actually down from 127 to 107. The likely loser in playing time is Wilmer Flores; however, he's likely to get plenty of at bats versus lefties, given his 2015 OPS aginst them was .955. Flores also now is probably the number one back-up at third to fragile David Wright. —Phil Hertz

Impact: High
Flores, Wilmer
Cabrera, Asdrubal



Pirates \| Jon Niese headed to Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired SP Jon Niese from the New York Mets Wednesday, Dec. 9, in exchange for 2B Neil Walker. Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Rob Biertempfel

BHQ take: Following the retirement of A.J. Burnett and J.A. Happ's free-agent departure, the Pirates needed a starting pitcher. Enter Niese. The lefty should fill the third spot in the rotation behind Francisco Liriano and Gerrit Cole. Niese, 29, went 9-10 for the Mets with a 4.13 ERA (4.18 xERA). His Dom has steadily dropped from 7.9 in 2011 to 5.8 last season (5.2 in the second half). He also had a hr/f rate of 14%. If you believe the Pirates can successfully add Niese to their string of reclamation projects (Burnett, Liriano, Edinson Vólquez), then Niese could be more than just an innings-eater for your roster. —Rick Green

Impact: High
Niese, Jon

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Playing Time Key

The playing time percentage changes at the bottom of most news items correspond to BaseballHQ.com's Teamview pages. The percentages approximate changes in AB, IP and Saves in the following manner:

For batters, each 5% of PT% ~ 31 AB (100% total for each position = 618 AB)
For pitchers, each 3% of PT% ~ 44 IP (100% total for a team's entire pitching staff)
For relievers, each 5% of Svs ~ 2 saves (100% of a team's total = about40 saves)

A complete explanation of BaseballHQ.com's playing time allocations can be found in the article "How the Projections are Created."