Modest Proposal

The Astros are in full rebuilding mode, and that means maximizing the trade value of their veterans. The decision to make Brett Myers the closer, therefore, has to be reversed. Myers is a durable mid-rotation starter, certainly capable of being a fourth starter, even a three, in a postseason rotation. His ability to take the ball every fifth day and grind out innings is a real asset on the trade market. By making Myers a closer, the Astros—for whom a closer is superfluous for the next three seasons—have turned him into a mediocre commodity: a 70-inning reliever without a fantastic strikeout rate. Like most pitchers, Myers has been more effective as a reliever: a 3.41 ERA in 58 appearances, most of them as the Phillies' closer in 2007, compared with 4.27 in 249 career starts. But a 3.41 relief ERA isn't anything special. Being able to make 32 starts and put up 190 innings is a more valuable skill. The Astros, whose farm system was once among the most fallow in the game but which has begun to sprout prospects, have to get the most they can for their veterans, and by moving Myers to the pen, they have limited the righthander's trade value to no good end.