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Ready for a fight
Astros shore up roster for Central battle with Cubs
Posted: Tuesday July 31, 2001 5:22 PM
The Houston Astros were the big players at Tuesday's trade deadline. Houston and
Colorado swapped right-handers as the Astros picked up Pedro Astacio for Scott
Elarton and a player to be named later. Houston also acquired reliever Mike
Williams from Pittsburgh for pitcher Tony McKnight. CNNSI.com spoke with Sports
Illustrated's Stephen Cannella> about the Astros' moves and other deadline
deals.
CNNSI.com: Pedro Astacio and Scott Elarton have both struggled this year. What does this
trade do for the teams
involved?
Stephen Cannella: In both cases, this could be a situation where a change of
scenery benefits a pitcher whose numbers don't really reflect his talent.
Everyone thought getting out of Colorado would be good for Astacio.
Unfortunately, he's going to the one park that's as close to Colorado without
actually being Colorado in terms of being hell for a pitcher. Elarton is a good
young power pitcher. I think Houston was a little frustrated by his proclivity
for injuries and thought maybe they'd have a little more dominating starter by
this point. But he's cheaper than Astacio and has a big upside, so I think
that's why the Rockies were willing to take him.
Astacio is a veteran, he knows
how to win and he's experienced. His numbers this year aren't so good, but he
did win 17 games two years ago, and I think it's important for the Astros
because the heart of their rotation right now is very young. Wade Miller, Tim
Redding and Roy Oswalt have all pitched well, but no one knows how they'll hold
up during a pennant race. At least now with Astacio, Houston has another known
quantity that it can trot out there every five days.
CNNSI.com: What does Mike Williams bring to the
Astros?
Stephen Cannella: He was closing in Pittsburgh, but he won't do that in Houston
because the Astros have Billy Wagner. But Williams and Wagner give Houston a
pretty good 1-2 punch for the eighth and ninth innings. This deal seems like it
came from the Astros' desire to keep pace with all the deals the Cubs have made,
and they decided to get active late. Williams was a little shaky as a closer --
it seemed like the bases were loaded whenever he was on the mound and every
batter had a three-ball count -- but he usually managed to get out of trouble. I
think working the seventh and eighth innings will be a benefit for him and he
definitely makes Houston's bullpen stronger than it was a day
ago.
CNNSI.com: The Braves finally replaced shortstop Rafael Furcal, who is out for
the season with an injury, by trading two minor leaguers for Rey Sanchez. What
will Sanchez provide for
Atlanta?
Stephen Cannella: The Braves, until this trade, had a double play combination of
Marcus Giles at second base and Mark DeRosa at shortstop. Both have played
fairly well so far, but no team wants to go into a tight pennant race with two
rookies up the middle. Sanchez is an excellent defensive player, and while he
won't provide the spark on offense that Furcal did, he'll hit .270-.280 for the
Braves and, more important, he'll steady their defense.
CNNSI.com: Late Monday, the Minnesota Twins traded outfielder Matt Lawton to the
New York Mets for pitcher Rick Reed. Did the Mets get enough for Reed? Lawton is
a solid player, but not a superstar. Also, how does this trade break down for
both
clubs?
Stephen Cannella: You're right, Lawton is not a definite 30-homer or 100-RBI
guy, but he instantly becomes the best offensive weapon in the Mets' outfield,
which has been awful this year. He's a good defensive outfielder and a good
offensive weapon for a relatively low salary. Rick Reed is a proven 12-15 game
winner, but pitching was the Mets' strength, and they had to give up some of
their strength to improve their outfield offense which was a huge need.
As for the Twins, we'd never thought we'd see the day when they would actually
add someone in July and not subtract payroll. This is huge for them. As good as
their starting pitching has been all year, it has faltered a bit lately. Brad
Radke, Joe Mays and Eric Milton haven't been as effective in the last month as
they were early in the season, and Reed is a gritty performer. He's a very good
pickup and will pitch well for Minnesota in the final two
months.
Sports Illustrated staff writer Stephen Cannella covers the baseball beat for
the magazine. His Touching Base column appears every week on
CNNSI.com.
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