There's not much new news on the possible Wilton Lopez trade this morning, outside of a few Ken Rosenthal tweets:
Status of trade between #Phillies, #Astros unclear. One source insists deal not done and multiple teams remain in mix for Wilton Lopez...
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 29, 2012
Another source says deal would be 2-for-1. RHP Tyler Cloyd could go to#Astros. Teams also have discussed #Phillies' young catchers.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 29, 2012
Let me say that the first source is probably Jeff Luhnow. Well, it would be if Luhnow and the Astros front office ever leaked anything. Which they don't. But, it is a good negotiating ploy on Houston's part to act like things are open again, maybe to force Philly to give up a higher price.
As for the second tweet, we finally get a prospect name to talk about. It's not exactly inspiring, but could be a Luhnow-esque choice. Right-hander Tyler Cloyd is a 25-year old who made his MLB debut this season, starting six games for the Phillies. Cloyd had a 4.91 ERA in 33 innings with 30 strikeouts and seven walks. He also allowed eight home runs, which is a huge number for so few starts.
Of course, that could be because of his scouting reports, here courtesy of John Sickels:
He can top out at 92 on his best days, but usually works in the 86-89 range. Scouts rate his slider and changeup as merely adequate, but the combination of the three pitches has worked well in the minors since he throws strikes and locates his pitches well. If his location is off, he usually misses high, which can result in excessive home runs.
There you go. Someone called Cloyd J.A. Happ 2.0 on Twitter, which is certainly not encouraging. But, Cloyd could fit the Kyle Weiland part of this trade, with a more significant piece coming next. Is that Tommy Joseph? Probably not. If it's Sebastian Valle and Cloyd for Lopez, it'd be a little disappointing haul, but still pretty good for a reliever. Maybe we just got spoiled by the Melancon trade.