Breaking News: Tony Kemp to be designated for assignment; White Traded to Dodgers for AA Pitcher

Beware of the Astro off day in late July. Two big pieces of news, and a few words about what it means. First, Tyler White has been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Andre Scrubb, an 8th round, right-handed college arm who’s at AA Tulsa. As a Dodger farm hand, he’s posted good K numbers but walked too many guys.

The bigger piece of news is that the Astros decided to keep Straw on the team. This was not entirely unforeseen, as Straw was able to accumulate quite a bit of value in limited at bats, and that he would probably make the playoff roster over Kemp. As I wrote on Monday, I have always liked Tony Kemp. He didn’t make sense on this roster construction, as a left-handed bat with three left-handed corner OF-types ahead of him.

The Astros now have seven days to trade Kemp. Although logic would dictate that his value would go down since he’s only property of the Astros for seven more days, the fact is that a player this good is attractive to multiple teams. As we all know from fantasy baseball, if you’re not high on the waiver wire, you’re not getting a good player that somebody released in haste. Luhnow will be able to get something in return for Kemp.

This isn’t fantasy though, it’s reality. Kemp has been a solid contributor for a number of years. He also seems like a genuinely good guy, and always represented the team well. Best of luck, Tony Kemp!

Was this a dumb move? Will it hurt clubhouse chemistry? Is Luhnow overconfident in his ability to get something done in the next seven days? Tell us what you think, CB Nation.

For more on Tony Kemp go Here