Skip to main content

Reports: Phils agree to trade Giles for four players

Kenny Giles, image- Jay Floyd
After a day full of hot stove rumors indicating the Phillies were in talks with Houston about a deal for righty closer Kenny Giles, several reports have the deal in place, pending physicals.

A reporter from a Fox affiliate in Houston tweeted incorrect facts about the trade multiple time, but it seems the return coming back for the 25-year-old Giles are right-handed hurler Vincent Velasquez, left-handed pitcher Brett Oberholtzer and outfielder Derek Fisher.

Velsaquez, a 23-year-old, was a 2nd round pick by Houston in 2010.  With terrific upside, the youngster sported a 4-0 record with a 1.91 ERA and a 12.3 K/9 mark in nine games at the Double-A level last season prior to a promotion to the big league.  With the Astros, in 19 games (seven starts) Velasquez tallied a 4.37 ERA and a .240 batting average against.

Oberholtzer, 26, has an 11-20 record in 3.94 ERA in 45 career big league outings.  He was an 8th round draft selection by Houston in 2008.

Fisher, 22, posted a .275 average with 22 homers and 87 RBI in 123 combined games at Class A and High A last season.  He is said to have plus speed, having swiped 31 bags in 38 chances this year.

Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki also reports a 4th player is headed to Philly for Giles.  Details to come.

Giles took over the role of Phillies' closer this season, in his second year in the big leagues, following the trade of All-Star reliever Jonathan Papelbon.  In 69 outings last season, Giles sported a 6-3 record with 15 saves and a 1.80 ERA.

With the Phils fully in rebuild mode and expected to make a run at last place again next year, the need for a stud closer isn't a great one.  The return of Velasquez and Fisher along with whatever else the Astros send to Philly for the occasional 100 MPH fastball of Giles is a solid one for sure.

This article originally appeared on Phillies Nation.  

*UPDATE*

Astros beat writer Evan Drellich tweeted late Wednesday night that the fourth player coming from Houston is Thomas Eshelman.
Eshelman is a 21-year-old right-hander hurler. The six-foot-three 210-pounder was a 2nd round draft pick this year and pitched in just four pro games in his young career.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Stats to Ponder: Jimmy Rollins Edition

J-Roll has batted under .200 for a calendar month twice in his career. In April 2004, Rollins went 13-for-71, for a .183 average. The following month, Rollins went 30-for-107, which is a .280 average. And in August 2005, Rollins went 22-for-117, for a .188 average. The month that followed saw Rollins go 49-for-122 for a .402 average. Rollins is batting .171 so far in May 2009. Improvement is not far away for Jimmy. The Phillies are 10-2 in games this year which Rollins scores at least 1 run. The Phillies are 4-12 in games which Rollins does not score. Jimmy Rollins in 6 games against the Braves this year is batting .071 (2-for-28). In 2008 Rollins batted .284 against the Braves in 18 games. In 2007 Rollins batted .347 against the Braves in 18 games. In 2006 Rollins batted .367 against the Braves in 18 games. Jimmy Milestone Watch: 6 more RBI and Rollins will tie Scott Rolen for 25th all time in Phillies RBI leaders. 7 more triples and Rollins will tie Richie Ashburn for 4th all time i...

Former Player Proposes Marriage on the Field in Lakewood

Three's a crowd, Buster...Image- Jay Floyd For one New Jersey couple a unique meeting at the ballpark led to a new meaning for the term baseball diamond. Brian Parker spotted the woman of his dreams from the bullpen bench at Lakewood, NJ's FirstEnergy Park on July 9th, 2010. The right-handed reliever for the Orioles affiliate Delmarva Shorebirds wasn't summoned to pitch that night, but it didn't stop him from getting up and going through his usual warm up and stretching routines to inch closer to a young blonde Brick Township native that he felt drawn toward. "I was acting like I was staying hot, but really I was just trying to talk to her," Parker, a 19th round draft choice by Baltimore in 2007, stated. "I ended up putting my (phone) number on a baseball and we decided to hang out and throughout that whole next year it was back and forth trips between the both of us." The lady that caught Parker's eye was Kristin VanDeventer, who was ...

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...