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

PhoulBallz Interview: Reading second baseman Jesmuel Valentin

Jesmuel Valentin, image- Jay Floyd Switch-hitting infielder Jesmuel Valentin has been a bit of an underrated contributor with the Double-A Reading Fightins. Heading into action on Friday, Valentin was batting .339 over his last 14 games. Overall this season, the 22-year-old is batting .282 with four home runs and 35 RBI in 64 games. Valentin, who plays mostly second base, but dabbles at shortstop a bit also, is the son of former big leaguer Jose Valentin . The Puerto Rico native was a supplementary round pick (51st overall) of the Dodgers in 2012. He was acquired by the Phils as part of the Roberto Hernandez trade in 2014. Recently, I spoke with Jesmuel about his team's success, growing up around the game and more. Read ahead for that full interview. -The Reading team has been great and you've contributed very nicely to the club's success. What are your thoughts on competition in the Eastern League this year? I just came here with the mindset that...

Catching prospect O'Hoppe tabbed to join Phillies

Logan O'Hoppe, image- Jay Floyd Please consider supporting my work and via my Patreon page .  For a small monthly fee, your patronage will get you exclusive interviews and other prospect related material as well as early access to all of my other content such as this feature.  Thank you.   On Friday, the Phillies added a pair of catchers to their 2020 player pool.  Minor leaguers Logan O'Hoppe (pronounced Oh-HOP-ee) and Henri Lartigue arrived in Philadelphia to help catch bullpen sessions for the team's collection of approximately 30 pitchers. The call to O'Hoppe was extremely welcome as the 20-year-old had been staying as active as he possibly could, working out with other players that have been been waiting out quarantine due to the current pandemic at his home on Long Island.  However, he had been very eager to step back onto an actual baseball field. "I just hope I can play soon.  Where ever that is or whatever form that is, that'd be aw...

Q&A with Justin De Fratus

Justin De Fratus is a 21 year old right handed relief pitcher with the Lakewood BlueClaws. An 11th round draft choice in 2007, Justin had been a starter in his first two seasons in the Phillies organization. Informed this spring that he'd be switched from the rotation to the bullpen, Justin has excelled and become one of the most reliable pitchers on the Lakewood staff. In 19 games this season, Justin is 2-0, with a 1.83 ERA and 0.89 WHIP over 39 1/3 innings pitched. PhoulBallz.com spoke with Justin De Fratus just last night. Here's how that went down... Justin, South Atlantic League all star selections were announced this week, and you were named to the team. Can I get your reaction to that? How excited were you? Very excited about it. Well, especially this year because I just got moved to the bullpen, so this is a new role for me. So, if anything, it's reassuring that I'm doing my job. It's the first time in my pro career that I've been selected as an all star...