Welcome Matt Lindstrom

It’s been an eventful couple of days for the Houston Astros bullpen. They have officially cut ties with their closer, setup man, and the preseason 7th inning guy. More importantly to most fans, they have parted way with about 15 million dollars and could get as many as two additional draft picks in return. Ed Wade can’t leave a bullpen well enough alone, so he brought in Matt Lindstrom via trade.

Let’s start with the obvious. Why Matt Lindstrom? Well, the answer is two-fold. First, when you have a moribund farm system, it’s hard to get a top-notch player on the market. The Marlins were looking to dump Lindstrom because he had a disappointing 2009 season and he is closing in on arbitration. The Astros get a pitcher with some closing experience and will come at a cheaper price than Jose Valverde or Latroy Hawkins.

In three big league seasons, Lindstrom sports a 3.88 ERA and 20 big league saves. Remember that Jose Valverde had one big season under his belt when the Astros traded for him, but he was hardly a lock. However, Lindstrom’s FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) over that span has been a surprising 3.41. In particular, his DERs in each of his three seasons has been well below the league average. The Marlins might be the worst fielding team from the last three years. We know, the Astros were last with a .679 DER, but the Marlins were next to last with a .686 DER. They were equally bad the other two seasons.

Who do the Marlins get? They get Robert Bono and Luis Bryan. Who are those guys? Bono was 10-8 in Lexington while Bryan hit .340 in Rookie League ball. Those are hardly guys that are going to break the farm system. Lindstrom will get a raise, but he will likely be cheaper than Hawkins would have been and he has more upside at this point. When you look at the deal through a narrow lense it is a good deal. When you look at it in terms of a talent exchange AND a financial one then it is a very good deal.

However, other rumors have the Astros possibly in on the negotiations with the Braves over Rafael Soriano. The idea there is to have two guys that can close games and have two up and coming closers that are both paid less than their predecessor. That idea sounds good except for the fact that this is a club coming off of a 74 win season. Their closer and setup men were hardly their problem. Both Hawkins and Valverde posted ERAs under three. If we assume a Soriano acquisition we could easily compare the combinations over the past three seasons.

. . . . . . . . . . .AGE. . . .ERA. . . .FIP. . .SAL

Valverde. . . . . .32. . . .2.84. . .3.52. ..10.0

Hawkins. . . . . ..37. . . .3.14. . .3.84. …3.8

Lindstrom. . . . ..30. . . .3.88. . .3.42. . .2.5

Soriano. . . . . . .30. . . .2.95. . .3.37. . .8.0

So, both of the would be late inning relievers are younger and have better FIPs than their predecessors. They are also collectively close to four million dollars cheaper. What’s not to like? I have no problem with those two guys per se. In fact, if I were looking at just the bullpen I would say that Wade has done an excellent job of getting better, younger, and cheaper. Still, the Soriano deal hasn’t been consummated (and there is at least one more team in play). It will take more than two low A ball players to get it done.

This brings us to the main crux of the discussion. Having a gold plated eighth and ninth inning relief corp on this club seems a bit like overkill. You could use any analogy you want. For those big into football, it would be like using a first round pick on a really good backup QB when the defense is in shambles. Are backup QBs important? Sure. Are they as important as good middle linebackers, safeties, and corners? Um, no.

As much as any of us like Geoff Blum, Jeff Keppinger, Humberto Quintero, and Kaz Matsui (okay, I don’t know many that like him), we know this team won’t go far if they are playing a bulk of the time at third, catcher, and second base. Doesn’t Ed Wade know this? If so, why are you spending so much energy on the 8th and 9th inning when you have guys guaranteeing you that you will be losing most of the time in the 8th and 9th inning?

To put it another way, you have an offense in 2009 that was the 15th worst offense of the 2000s in the NL. That’s 15th out of 160 offenses. Then, you step in and take away four months of Ivan Rodriguez and six months of Miguel Tejada. You’re talking top ten material there. Match that with the worst fielding team from the 2009 season and it would seem to me that improving the position players would be the way to go. Then again, that’s why I’m writing this blog and why those folks are staying in a plush Indianapolis hotel room.