Wade Makes Off-Season Moves As Winter Meetings Approach
Published on November 8, 2007 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release
ROUND ROCK - When Ed Wade assumed the role as General Manager for the Houston Astros, one of his first moves was to pluck veteran minor league manager Jackie Moore from the Triple-A Round Rock Express and place him alongside manager Cecil Cooper as a coach in Houston.
More than a month later, Wade has positioned several key moves that have fortified the Astros and may have an impact on Round Rock in the 2008 season. Though Wade contends the shuffling is not yet done for the Astros, here's a glance at some early key moves as the organization prepares for its Winter Meetings:
The addition of outfielder Michael Bourn - The Irving, Texas and University of Houston product was added in a five-player trade with the Philadelphia Phillies. He gives Houston a boost in the speed category, adding to the flash Hunter Pence showed in 2007. Bourn swiped 18 bases and was caught just three times with the Phillies in his first full Major League season. But he may just be getting warmed up.
Bourn stole a career-high 57 bases in Single-A in 2004 and has stolen 182 total over the last five years. His addition gives Houston a deeper outfield pool which now includes former Round Rock star Luke Scott, Josh Anderson and newly acquired Reggie Abercrombie.
Of the addition, Wade said: "[Bourn is] a good developing player and obviously did a really good job when given the opportunity last year. He's got to come into camp prepared to win a job. Luke Scott is still an element on our club that brings solid offense to our team. [Reggie] Abercrombie, whom we took on a waiver claim, has to come in and show what he's capable of doing. We may still add more outfield depth during the course of the off-season."
The re-signing of Brad Ausmus - Ausmus, 38, signed on for one more year behind the plate for Houston, though the veteran's role will change. He will help develop rookie catcher J.R. Towles, who joined the Astros late in the 2007 season. Ausmus, who will enter his eighth consecutive season with the Astros, batted .235 in last year. Towles played at every rank of Houston's minor league system last year before catching in 14 Major League games. He collected 15 hits, including five doubles and a homerun, in 40 at-bats (.375).
Of Towles, Ausmus said: "As a receiver, he's very good," Ausmus said. "He's probably one of the better receivers in the league. But just arriving to the big leagues, there's some things he has to learn. It comes with experience, and he doesn't have experience. Hopefully he'll speed up the learning process, in theory, with me around."
The addition of corner infielder Mike Costanzo - The primary third baseman, who came over with Bourn, has also seen limited time at first and could see action at Double-A Corpus Christi or Triple-A Round Rock in 2008. Costanzo, 24, batted .270 with 27 homeruns and 86 RBI in his first Double-A season in 2007. He finished the year as an Eastern League All-Star and ranked second in the league in homeruns and third in runs (92).
The promotion of Glen Barker - Barker spent parts of three years with the Astros and has 10 years of minor league experience, making him extremely knowledgeable in player development. After spending three years as a professional scout for Houston, Barker, 36, will oversee Houston's push into the Pacific Rim region (Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Australia). Barker spent two seasons in the Australian Winter League from 1997-98, and, as a minor league player in the Detroit Tigers system, he spent two months in the off-season following the 1998 campaign with the Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese League as part of a working agreement between the Detroit and Hanshin franchises.
Of the move, Wade said: "Glen is a young, aggressive guy who has done a good job as a member of our professional scouting staff," Wade said. "He has playing experience on the Pacific Rim and even has some Japanese language skills. We think he has the ability to work on the Pacific Rim and tap into the talent pools that exist over there. He'll spend a lot of time on the Pacific Rim and is also charged with developing a scouting staff that will help funnel players into the Astros system. With the additions of Bobby Heck (director of amateur scouting), Felix Francisco (director of Latin American scouting) and Barker, we have significantly increased our ability to be the best and deepest organization in baseball."
Winter League Update
Outfielder Josh Flores continues to lead the Astros organization with four stolen bases ... Outfielder Mitch Einerston, a former fifth round draft choice, leads the club with four homeruns for the Mesa Solar Sox (Arizona Fall League) ... Einerston also leads the organization with a .905 OPS ... Infielder Tommy Manzella, a third round draft choice in 2005, is batting .304 for the Solar Sox ... Express first baseman Mark Saccomanno leads the Navegantes del Magallanes (Venezuelan Winter League) with 13 RBI ...Catcher Lou Santangelo is batting .304 and has drawn 10 walks in the Hawaiian Baseball League.
*MLB.com contributed to this release.
Pacific Coast League Stories from November 8, 2007
- River Cats Introduce Todd Steverson as New Manager; Announce '08 Coaching Staff - Sacramento River Cats
- Wade Makes Off-Season Moves As Winter Meetings Approach - Round Rock Express
- Isotopes picked top Triple-A franchise by Baseball America - Albuquerque Isotopes
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
