Who is the next to go?

With Hunter Pence being traded to the Phillies, who is the next player to be traded and where? Brian McTaggert of MLB.com wrote that the Astros are most likely not done trading and this quote by GM Ed Wade supports that:

"“We’ve been involved in conversations on a number of different fronts, and as we said coming into this period, if an opportunity to do some things we felt made sense for the future of the franchise, then we would be proactive,” general manager Ed Wade said. “We’re trying to be as active as we can to add depth to the organization and continue building toward having that core nucleus coming from within."

The Astros have three players (Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers, and Michael Bourn) who teams are still interested in with Bourn generating the most interest. All indications were the Reds were making a strong push for Bourn but the Astros were asking for a big return, which could scare them away. Last night, Jerry Crasnick tweeted that the Braves are now in the hunt to make a move for Bourn. The question is if the Astros and Braves can work out a deal for Bourn, even though they couldn’t come together on one for Pence.

As for Wandy and Brett Myers, I don’t expect the Astros to get a great return on either guy because of their age and sizable contracts. Jon Heyman tweeted this yesterday and reminds me a bit of the Lance Berkman trade last year, where the trade is more about dumping salary than getting quality return.

I also found it interesting and a little troubling at the end of Brian McTaggert’s article that Ed Wade told Brewer’s GM Doug Melvin that Clint Barmes was unavailable. Barmes does not fit into the long term plan of the Astros, has been playing well over the past month, making his trade value the highest it has been. It should be another interesting and active day for the Astros as we approach the trade deadline tomorrow afternoon.