I guess the phrase "beware of the Sars..." will never catch on in Houston... but he had his chances. I also like the guy they're getting from Oakland (Harville). He's got Brad Lidge stuff, but unfortunately also Brad Lidge's injury history. But, from all acounts, he's recovered fully and has been healthy for over a year (like Lidge las year...hmm...) Gerry made another solid move for a guy that can contribute right away. Astros trade Saarloos HOUSTON -- It took seven years but Chad Harville is finally the property of the Houston Astros after the club traded right-handed pitcher Kirk Saarloos to Oakland for the hard-throwing right-hander late Friday night. Harville, 27, was 0-0 with a 3.38 ERA in three appearances for Oakland and owns a 1-2 career record with a 5.62 ERA in 42 games over four seasons. He split last year between Triple-A Sacramento, where he was the closer, and Oakland. "A little bit of irony because back in 1997 we had targeted Harville as our No. 1 draft pick in that year's draft and when it came our turn to draft a kid by the name of Lance Berkman was still on the board unexpectedly and we ended up taking Berkman instead," Houston General Manager Gerry Hunsicker said. "Hopefully that's an omen we have acquired this player and he's ready to emerge into a productive Major League pitcher." Harville will join the Astros on Saturday and be in uniform for Houston's game against Milwaukee at Minute Maid Park. A roster spot must be cleared to make room for him and Hunsicker said a move will be made before the game. "This came together fairly quickly because Harville was designated for assignment by Oakland," Hunsicker said. "He has closer stuff. He throws 94-96 miles an hour with a low to mid 80s slider. He's got Brad Lidge kind of stuff. It's just that he has not had the opportunity at the Major League level to demonstrate what he can do. "I see him as somebody that's going to add nice depth behind Lidge and [Dan] Miceli. Just gives us a power arm that we can gently ease in to the middle of the games and see what happens." Harville has a history of injuries to go with his power arm. The Astros do not think that will be an issue. "I think any time that a player has a history you've got to have some concern," Hunsicker said. "We did our due diligence there and we feel it is behind him. [In] 2002 he missed a lot of time because of injury to both the elbow and the shoulder. Harville pitched 2003 without injury and has looked fine this spring and the first weeks of the season with Oakland. "So we're optimistic that his arm problems are behind him but with any pitcher there's always a risk," Hunsicker said. The Astros hated to part with Saarloos, 24, who was 0-2 with a 15.43 ERA at Triple-A New Orleans. A third round selection in the 2001 draft, he made his Major League debut in his second professional season. He is 8-8 with a 5.61 ERA in 36 Major League appearances. "In my mind he's still a developing pitcher," Hunsicker said. "Knowing him he's going to eventually find a way to be successful at the Major League level but with everything that we have invested in this year and the opportunity that we have in front of us for this year we just felt that Harville was in a better position to help us win this year than Kirk was."
The thing with Kirk (he was 0-2 w/ 15.38 ERA in New Orleans), is that he was always going to be a late bloomer. Since he will never have a blazing fastball, for him its just going to be control control control control for the rest of his career. But, he has a better than average shot of excelling eventually in the major leagues... think Jamie Moyer (who never really blossomed till after 30).
Good deal for the Astros. I assume Brunlett is on his way back to AAA, we'll probably carry an extra arm until we get Pettite back.
Good trade, it's never bad having power pitching in the pen and it seems he is Lidge 2...... Great arm but a history of injuries. Although, we have traded away our pitching surplus way before the deadline when they could have become valuble pieces for trades.
This looks liek a pretty good deal for the Astros. harville has ML experience and has thrown well out of the pen for Oakland. he was sent down earlier in the wek so that they could bring up Rich Harden. He should definitely help out. This move makes me think that Gerry and Company fell like Carlos and Bucholtz are close to being ready. If they aren't then I think there is no way we deal Saarloos and Robertson this early in the season.
eh , not a bad trade I suppose. ya get a arm in the trade, albeit with risk...... but we'll see how he develops as time goes on looks like we're getting rid of all the new orleans gang though, robertson, sarloos ;]
Although it is just one game, Carlos stats so far is encouraging; 1 Start 5 innings pitched 4 Ks 2 BBs 3 Hits 0.00 ERA If he comes along gradually and stays healthy, he could be of great importance this season and definitely the next. He is indeed our most ML ready pitcher. Methinks so too especially with the road trip to Colorado coming up. Backe and Gallo's outstanding pitching makes it a no brainer. Plus our bullpen will be shot today with Koko starting.........and on a pitch count of 80. Chad could see action as early as the 6th inning today. I must admit this trade baffled me too but hey Chad is not a spotless player either. A's are known for patience and developing players, and it looks like Kirk will be a solid ML player later in his career. We don't have time to waste with Buckholtz, Hernandez, Fernandez, Rodrigo Rosario, et al.
The big question (providing Backe and Gallo continue to pitch well in the next week) is who goes when Pettitte comes off the DL. If Bruntlett is sent down today, then Ricky Stone may be the odd man out. The Astros like hard throwing relievers and Stone is the softest thrower of the bunch.
Huh? "This came together fairly quickly because Harville was designated for assignment by Oakland," Hunsicker said. Therefore, how good can he be???
A's fan here. Oakland was out of options on Harville. Castor27 was correct that the A's needed to designate Harville in order to bring up Rich Harden as our fifth starter. But, the A's could have designated Justin Duchscherer (2003 AAA PCL Pitcher of the Year) who is really starting pitcher. Those who follow baseball know that the A's are right up there with the Astros in terms of starting pitching depth so I'm very surprised that we traded for more starting pitching. IMO, the A's needed Duchscherer as their long reliever and emergency spot starter. As mentioned before, Harville is a very hard thrower and I read somewhere he had been working on a cutter in spring training. The injury bug should be past him since he's been healthy for 1+ years now. He's been one of the A's top prospects for some time now but never really blossomed. That's part of the reason why the A's were out of options. The good news for the 'Stros is Harville finally looks ready, posting a 2.87ERA in spring training and should immediately help your bullpen. So what's up with Sar-LOHS. Prior to this season, he was absolutely dominate in the minors. But, now he's really struggling.
Stone has good stuff though... and he throws strikes. Gallo and Backe have looked great... but remember, they were both pitching in a game that was a blowout (for the other team), and in that situation their hitters tend to concentrate less against decent pitchers. The true test for these guys is can they come in and hold a slight lead if needed... Stone has already passed that test. Plus, with the quality of our rotation when Pettite comes back (and if our games thus far hold to form), our only KEY bullpen guys are Koko, Miceli, Lidge and Dotel. The rest are just filler in case the game gets out of hand.
With him, since he doesn't have a blazing fastball he can make mistakes with, it comes down to confidence and control. When he has those two, he'll be dominant... but right now, he's lost both. When he came up 2 years ago, he had a lot of moxy and his stuff was deceiving hitters. He even threw one of only 2 CG shutouts for us that year. The following year, he just missed making the team outta spring training, but he still had all the confidence in the world... and went down to AAA and just flat-out dominated (something like a 1.38 ERA). But, when he got another chance at the majors, this time he faltered... and often, he faltered in situations where we really needed him to come thru. Thus, he never got that confidence back, and it sent him on a tailward spiral. The key with Kirk is that you have to be patient... and with our team going for it all this year, and the quality arms we have at AAA, this is a luxury the 'Stros could not afford. But, I have little doubt, that Saarloos will eventually be an effective starting MLB pitcher.