Houston Astros Acquire Ken Giles From Philadelphia Phillies
By Yoni Pollak
The Houston Astros have ended their search for a fireballer-closer by acquiring Ken Giles from the Philadelphia Phillies.
In exchange for Giles, the Astros sent Vincent Velasquez, Brett Oberholtzer and Derek Fisher to Philadelphia.
Jim Salisbury (CSN Philadelphia) was the first to report a deal was close between the two teams. Mark Berman (MyFox26) was the first to hunt down the details.
Told #Astros getting closer Ken Giles from Phillies for pitchers: Vince Velasquez, Bret Oberholtzer &OF Derek Fisher, pending physicals
— Mark Berman (@MarkBerman_) December 10, 2015
Giles, 25, finished with a 1.80 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 87 strikeouts in 70 innings pitched during the 2015 season.
UPDATE: There are reports of a fourth player being involved. Will update when there are more details are available.
The youngster only finished the season with 15 saves, but that had more to do with the team he played for than his performance. He’s only pitched in the MLB for two season, but he owns a sparkling 1.56 career ERA and is one of the highly-regarded closers in the league.
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GM Jeff Luhnow has now found his closer by adding Giles to the back of the pen. He’ll join Luke Gregerson, Josh Fields, Pat Neshek and Will Harris plus another pitcher or two next season. The Astros hope to add Tony Sipp to that mix as well.
The beautiful thing about adding Giles is his age, cost and control. Giles is only 25, but does come with two years of pitching experience. He is also under control for another five seasons at little cost. Those three factors made Giles a high priority for the Astros, as a closer that can be a shutdown closer for the next several years, not just a one-year or few-year rental like other options.
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The Astros did give up some good talent to acquire Giles, but that’s how baseball works (unless you’re the Arizona Diamondbacks in which case you overspend on all players). Vincent Velasquez was a fun prospect to follow and has a ceiling of a very good #2 pitcher, but he’s had health issues his whole career. When he was called up by the Astros this season, Velasquez showed flashes of brilliance, but at times he struggled with location and couldn’t get that third strike on hitters. Still, Velasquez is the highlight of this deal and a guy Phillies fans should enjoy watching next year.
Brett Oberholtzer is only 26-years old but didn’t have a future in Houston. He’s still a good #4 or #5 option for the Phillies, evidenced by his 3.94 career ERA. Oberholtzer was inconsistent in Houston. He would string together three great starts and then follow it up with two duds before repeating the process. He’s a solid get for the Phillies.
Outfield prospect Derek Fisher is also a nice get for the Phillies. He has a high-ceiling according to some prospect evaluators but still has a ways to go. If his power develops, he could be a good corner outfielder for several years. He would have been a top 10 prospect for the Astros in the 2016 season.
So yes, the Astros did give up some nice pieces to acquire Giles, but closer was the number one priority for the Astros and Luhnow did an excellent job with this trade.
Click here for all the latest on the Astros’ offseason.