I have a conspiracy theory. I believe that when former Phillies General Manager Ed Wade was hired by the Astros in 2007, he had a secret monetary agreement with Philadelphia ownership that ensured them he would do everything in his power to help the Phillies win championships at Houston's expense. How else can you explain the Roy Oswalt trade????
Here's the deal - the Astros are paying about $11M of the remaining $23M on Oswalt's contract. And Oswalt is no longer demanding his $16M option for 2012 be picked up. So, essentially, the Phillies are paying $12M for 1 1/2 years of Oswalt's services - that's great market value. But the money isn't even the best part. That would have to be the prospects Philadelphia is sending Houston in this trade. They are absolutely MEDIOCRE for a player of Oswalt's talents.
Houston is NOT getting top hitting prospect Jonathan Singleton, as was previously reported. Philly wouldn't part with him and the Astros caved. According to ESPN sources, Philly will be sending over "prospects" Anthony Gose (CF) and Jonathan Villar (SS). You can check out my writeup on Gose here. He's a super-fast guy and great defender who has no power and struggles to get on base. They traded Houston another Michael Bourn. Villar is a 19-year old shortstop in Class-A Lakewood. He's another guy who can run and field but has no power and struggles to get on base. Houston not receiving a top prospect is especially sorry for them when you consider how much salary they are eating in this deal.
If this trade isn't enough of an example of Ed Wade's ineptitude, here's another beauty from the recent past:
November 8, 2007:
Wade trades closer Brad Lidge, along with reserve infielder Eric Bruntlett, to the Phillies in exchange for second-year outfielder Michael Bourn, middle reliever Geoff Geary (fail), and third base prospect Mike Costanzo (epic fail). Lidge goes 48-48 in save opportunities in 2008 and closes out the Phillies second-ever World Series Championship. Bourn is a guy that steals bases when he gets on base.....which is infrequently.
And I'm not even going to touch Wade's horrific Curt Schilling and Scott Rolen trades, or the J.D. Drew debacle, when he was running the Phillies show.
But that was then and this is now. I'd actually like to thank Ed Wade for his dedication to being the worst General Manager in baseball. His skill at sucking wasn't fully appreciated in Philadelphia but I think I speak for all Phillies fans when I say that his unique talents couldn't make us happier today. I'd congratulate Phillies GM Ruben Aramo on this overwhelmingly lopsided trade, but let's be honest, that would be like congratulating the captain of a high school football team for beating the crap out of a special-ed student.
***UPDATE***
Wade deserves a little bit of genuine credit in this deal - he flipped Anthony Gose to Toronto for 23-year old first base prospect Brett Wallace. In 95 games at Triple-A this season, Wallace is hitting .301/.359/.509 with 18 homeruns. Apparently, Toronto wanted to get "more athletic." Wallace is a legitimate successor for Lance Berkman, so good for Wade. He didn't get Jonathan Singleton, but he got another firstbaseman who can mash and is closer to the big leagues (though Singleton's upside is higher). I have no idea what new Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos is thinking. Lyle Overbay is playing first base for the Blue Jays. They needed Brett Wallace and should have called him up months ago. When Ed Wade pulls one over on you, it's not a good indicator that Toronto's franchise is in capable hands.
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