Carlos Lee to the Marlins for Matt Dominguez and Rob Rasmussen

[Jaypers]

Buster Olney ‏@Buster_ESPN
Sources: The Marlins are trading Matt Dominguez and P Rob Rasmussen for Carlos Lee.

 

[hive17]

El Caballo. Wonder if he'll make tomorrow's game in Milwaukee?

 

[Weimer]

Interesting.

 

[HPC]

He wouldnt waive to go to LA but will for Miami?

If true, very odd

 

[gt2590]

Yeah, I'm with HPC, I'm curious to see the reasons for him allowing this deal.

And if Dominguez doesn't hit HRs in Houston, he never will...

 

[markakis8]

Great trade for the Astros, depending on how much they are eating of his remaining salary. Even if they are paying most of it, great trade. Never hurts to have a lot of young options.

 

[Keyser Soze]

I think I prefer Zach Lee, but ill take anything we can get for that fat, worthless turd

 

[FortyFour]

Glad LA didnt get him.

 

[George_Calfas]

I think I prefer Zach Lee, but ill take anything we can get for that fat, worthless turd

Miami and a chance to win might bring out the old Lee.

 

[bigpapiMA32]

He wouldnt waive to go to LA but will for Miami?

If true, very odd

He had a partial no-trade clause that allowed him to block deals to 14 clubs in 2011 or 2012, and the Marlins weren't one of those teams. He previously waived his 10-5 rights for a full no-trade clause from 2007-2010.

 

[JoshHamilton]

Anything is better than Gaby Sanchez

 

[predatorkj]

Anything is better than lee . He's overpriced. Thank god we finally got rid of his ass.

 

[markakis8]

I think I prefer Zach Lee, but ill take anything we can get for that fat, worthless turd

The guy averaged over 35 doubles, 25 homers and 100 RBIs in his five full years in Houston. I hardly call that a worthless turd. Maybe you were thinking of Roger Clemens?

 

[Frow]

The guy averaged over 35 doubles, 25 homers and 100 RBIs in his five full years in Houston. I hardly call that a worthless turd. Maybe you were thinking of Roger Clemens?

Partially agree he's had pretty good production even if he's shown a steady decline in production, but for being one of the highest paid players in the league over the last few years I could see where you'd expect more.

 

[RNCoyote]

Hallelujah!

 

[Keyser Soze]

The guy averaged over 35 doubles, 25 homers and 100 RBIs in his five full years in Houston. I hardly call that a worthless turd. Maybe you were thinking of Roger Clemens?

This is one of those cases where numbers don't tell the story. If you watch the Astros with any regularity, you'd see a guy that just does not care about winning, which he proved by refusing a trade to the Dodgers yet accepting one to the Marlins. He doesn't hussle, his defense is horrible (in large part due to lack of effort and conditioning), and all of these things got noticeably worse after he got the big contract and almost immediately put on 30 pounds of pure fat. The numbers just don't tell the story, but even they'd be noticeably better had he worked harder instead of becoming complacent after he got his payday

 

[markakis8]

This is one of those cases where numbers don't tell the story. If you watch the Astros with any regularity, you'd see a guy that just does not care about winning, which he proved by refusing a trade to the Dodgers yet accepting one to the Marlins. He doesn't hussle, his defense is horrible (in large part due to lack of effort and conditioning), and all of these things got noticeably worse after he got the big contract and almost immediately put on 30 pounds of pure fat. The numbers just don't tell the story, but even they'd be noticeably better had he worked harder instead of becoming complacent after he got his payday

Ok well calling someone worthless and questioning ones heart and drive are two completely different things. Just looking at the numbers he clearly wasn't worthless. He showed up and produced, plain and simple.

And now the Astros are paying to play for Miami. Weird.

 

[reljac]

This is one of those cases where numbers don't tell the story. If you watch the Astros with any regularity, you'd see a guy that just does not care about winning, which he proved by refusing a trade to the Dodgers yet accepting one to the Marlins. He doesn't hussle, his defense is horrible (in large part due to lack of effort and conditioning), and all of these things got noticeably worse after he got the big contract and almost immediately put on 30 pounds of pure fat. The numbers just don't tell the story, but even they'd be noticeably better had he worked harder instead of becoming complacent after he got his payday

100% agree with this.

 

[noaskiecards]

Carlos Lee Salary > Lebron James Salary

 

[reljac]

Ok well calling someone worthless and questioning ones heart and drive are two completely different things. Just looking at the numbers he clearly wasn't worthless. He showed up and produced, plain and simple.

And now the Astros are paying to play for Miami. Weird.

He's the 17th highest paid player in MLB and hasn't been to an all star game in 6 years.

What to do with Astros' Carlos Lee
May, 13, 2010
5/13/109:10AM ETBy Austin Swafford, Austin's Astros 290 Blog | ESPN.com

Carlos Lee is not at all the same player the Astros got when they signed him for the 2007 season. His slugging percentage dropped 80 points last season and is just .292 so far this season. He is a liability on the basepaths and had the lowest range factor of any starting left fielder last year. He has also hit into 21 double plays last year and is on pace for 30 this year. All of this comes in addition to hitting .200 this year with a .530 OPS. Lee is unlikely to magically improve at the age of 33.



Bob Levey/Getty Images
Carlos Lee struggling for a Houston team that is headed in the wrong direction.The real problem is the contract. If Jeff Keppinger was hitting that way, he would be benched without hesitation. However, Lee is in the fourth year of a six year contract that is paying him $18.5 million each of the next three seasons. Not that most teams would take him, but it is worth mentioning Lee has a no-trade clause in his contract and does not seem interested in leaving Texas.

Houston is in a real bind. Who needs a declining outfielder in his mid-30s who can't play defense? The only teams that might take a chance on such a player -- the Royals and Nationals -- would surely be rejected by Lee. A handful of AL teams might take a chance on him as a DH, but it’s hard to say which might be suitable for Lee, and even harder to say Houston would get the kind of value they're looking for.

It’s the same issue Buster Olney wrote about last week with Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt -- the Astros would probably have to eat a lot of Lee’s salary to get some good prospects, or hand his salary to the buyer and not get much talent in return.

The best thing the Astros have going for them is that they are clearly not going anywhere this year. The Astros have two outfielders who are posting very good numbers at Triple-A Round Rock. Brian Bogusevic has a .336/.397/.513 line with nine doubles, four homeruns and 17 RBIs. Jason Bourgeois is .316/.393/.411 with three doubles, two homeruns, 13 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Both have some issues that probably prevent them from being ready right now. But perhaps they get up there and surprise. That's the nice thing about not having anything to lose -- you can see if these young guys have some real promise for the future.

Bourgeois, in particular, would provide a very nice complement to Michael Bourn, who is the only real speedster the Astros have right now.

It is time for the Astros to see about the future. They should release Cory Sullivan and make Lee the highest-paid pinch hitter in the game while they see if Bogusevic or Bourgeois has anything to offer. Maybe if Lee becomes dissatisfied enough on the bench and plays well during some DH opportunities in interleague play, he might reconsider accepting a trade.