would have to be willing to take on a pretty hefty contract in exchange for a player who should regress in those years remaining in the deal. still though, he is a far above average hitter, and his defensive inadequacies can be compensated for with a good CF and a short porch in left…we know that better than any other team

The Boston Globe seems to have been growing their reputation of poor sports journalism for a while, and I’m just going to dismiss this as yet another example. Unless I’m missing something that somehow some yokel in Boston has uncovered, I’ve heard nothing about the Astros trying to “dump salary”.

This is just conjecture. No one has said the Astros want to trade Tejada and Valverde, but this guy states it as fact. All Wade said was that they might have to move a player or two to save some cash. He could have been talking about anyone. The primary target, in my opinion, would be Wigginton. He is set to make several million this year and had a good year last season (towards the end, anyway) that he may not be able to duplicate. It’s a good time to sell high. And we are keeping Erstad and Blum so those guys can both play 3rd base and had decent years too. Tejada would be hard to get rid of this year (because of his average offensive season) and there are a lot of closers on the market right now so Valverde would be hard to move too. In both cases Wade would be selling low. It would be more productive, probably, to keep them both next year and get the draft picks if and when they move on after next season.

He could also be talking about Mark Loretta, who hasn’t been offered arbitration and will likely move on to another team. That will save a couple of million right there.

Also, Wade has stated that the Astros intend to increase payroll this year. He didn’t say how much, so all this could mean is that they will keep most of the players from last year, assuming they would have to give them each a little bit of a raise.

As for Carlos Lee. I’m calling bullshit on that. Drayton is going to trade someone with his own fan club that attends every game and people love to see on tv?

He is a good hitter, but his contract is horrible because of its length and size. Lee’s offense will start to decline before the contract is up, and Lee’s defense, which is already iffy, won’t get any better. Right now, his production justifies a high salary. But I think his contract will become a millstone around the Astros’ neck in a couple of years.

But I don’t think a trade has much chance of happening. I doubt that Carlos Lee will waive his no trade clause. He already told Ortiz of the Chronicle that he wouldn’t do it (during last season). And Lee’s contract is so big that I question whether any other teams will take it on. If they are willing to do so, his contract cost will greatly reduce what the Astros can get in return. And I haven’t seen any evidence that McLane would let go of a popular star like Lee.

Not many teams can take his contract. Maybe the Red Sox?