I have a problem with this report by FOXSports' Ken Rosenthal. It's not that he makes any ridiculous statements or even says anything I didn't already know.
↵Well, he does make one pretty bad comment. He thinks that the Astros need to "kickstart" their rebuilding process by trading Pence. Apparently, he missed last summer when the Astros did rebuild, trading two team icons away for prospects and young major leaguers. Just because the results this season haven't been favorable, Houston is supposed to blow up a younger team to rebuild again?
↵I've long been a proponent of a Pence trade, because I don't think he has the skillset to be a cornerstone of a good team. He's never going to be a middle of the order masher (even if he is the best hitter on the Astros right now). He's good defensively, but not a game-changer out in right field. In short, as he gets more expensive, he has less and less surplus value.
↵But, if I were a general manager who thought it best to trade Pence, how would I get the maximum return for him? By saying he's unavailable right up until the last minute, when I can catch a desperate team and get the Mark Teixeira package back for him.
↵Ed Wade is doing the first part right now, which doesn't mean he's going to transition into the second. Pence is still the face of a franchise that very much needs someone to market. If you think attendance is bad now, wait until Pence is traded. Either way, the characterization of the Astros in that article is off and Rosenthal is better than that.
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