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It's a day later and now that people have had time to think about the trade that sent Dexter Fowler to Houston, let's take a trip around the internet. Here are some of the reactions from baseball writers about the trade.
Are there questions? Sure. Is it an upgrade? Yes, on paper at least (which is all we have to go on, anyway). My biggest concern is how Fowler will play outside of Colorado, but that would be true of any player leaving Colorado. Ultimately, we wanted the Astros to upgrade at the outfield, but not at the long-term expense of the impressive farm system they've built - and it seems the Astros have done just that.
The next two years, Fowler should get paid something like, say, $18 million. He'll be a center fielder at 28 to 29 years old, and as an Astro, it wouldn't be hard for Fowler to be worth that money. ... Houston's gamble is that Fowler's Colorado question mark won't turn out to be that big of a deal.
Fowler, one of the Rockies' most popular players, was dealt to Houston for two unproven players - 23-year-old right-handed pitcher Jordan Lyles and 27-year-old outfielder Brandon Barnes. The Astros also will get a player to be named.
A ballplayer's pedigree does matter, at least to some. That's the only way to explain Tuesday's trade of Colorado Rockies outfielder Dexter Fowler to the Houston Astros in exchange for right-handed starting pitcher Jordan Lyles and outfielder Brandon Barnes. See, Lyles was once sort-of a first-round draft pick.
Baseball Prospectus' Sam Miller:
The trade pipeline flows toward Houston for the first time since-geez, Clint Barmes in November 2010? Maybe Matt Lindstrom a year earlier? The group of outgoings since then includes Justin Maxwell, Bud Norris, Jose Veras, Jed Lowrie, Wilton Lopez, Chris Johnson, Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers, J.A. Happ, Carlos Lee, Michael Bourn, Hunter Pence, Jeff Keppinger, Matt Lindstrom, Felipe Paulino, Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt. But it's morning in America again: the Astros are trying to get better!
Fowler -- This does not bode well. Road-Fowler was pretty awful a year ago; Home-Fowler hit .311, while Road-Fowler only managed .214. Of Fowler's 40 career home runs, 27 have come in Coors Field. Moving to Houston's Minute Maid Park is better for him than a move to San Diego, San Francisco, or Pittsburgh might have been, of course, but we're all well-acquainted with Coors guys becoming non-Coors guys. On top of that, Fowler has only played 140 games once (143 in 2012), and only got into 119 in 2013. He's far from a paragon of health. Fowler-the-Rockie was a mid-round 2014 draft pick with some moderate upside; Fowler-the-Astro is a very late pick who would be your first post-draft drop.
The Houston Astros-Colorado Rockies trade might be the one move of the crazy past 48 hours that truly came out of nowhere for me. ... The Astros get something of an upside play for the short term, while the Rockies save money and get a back-end starter candidate who'll have to make a big adjustment to handle Coors Field.
What did the Astros get? A player with two years remaining until free agency who has averaged a consistent 2.4 WAR over the past three seasons. He's a good player whom the Rockies always expected more from, perhaps creating a poor read of his actual value. There is the possibility that his numbers will crater outside of Coors Field -- he's hit .298 there in his career, .241 on the road -- but as a guy who takes his walks I like his chances to produce once he gets away from the Coors effect. Kudos to the Astros for acquiring some talent without giving up much in return. With prospect George Springer presumably ready to take over center, I wouldn't be surprised to see Fowler move to left field; his bat won't play as well there but he'll improve the Astros' defense dramatically over the statue-like Chris Carter.
The Colorado Rockies finally came through on a long-rumored trade, shipping Dexter Fowler to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Homer Bailey.
Wait, no. No, they didn't. Instead, they shipped Fowler to the Houston Astros for Jordan Lyles and Brandon Barnes, the Rockies announced on Tuesday. The Astros will also receive a player to be named later in the deal.
Whatever the Rockies have up their sleeve, it better be good because this trade looks absolutely awful on paper, and I can't think of a single person who would disagree.
