Posted: Monday, August 15, 2011, 1:33 PM | 78 comments |
 

Astros get Domingo Santana to complete Pence deal
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The Phillies lost another of their top prospects Monday when the team announced that minor-league outfielder Domingo Santana has been assigned to the Houston Astros to complete the July 29 Hunter Pence trade.

That means the Astros acquired pitcher Jared Cosart, first baseman Jonathan Singleton, pitcher Josh Zeid and Santana in the deal. Cosart was considered the Phillies' best pitching prospect before the deal and Singleton was considered the best position player in the organization. It could be argued that Santana was the organization's best outfield prospect.

Santana, who just turned 19 this month, was hitting .269 with 29 doubles, four triples, seven home runs and 32 RBIs for single-A Lakewood. A native of the Dominican Republic, he also played in the South Atlantic League as a 17-year-old last season, but was demoted to Williamsport after hitting .182. He had shown tremendous improvement in his second full professional season.

In other news, Baseball America reported that the Phillies have agreed to terms with first-round pick Larry Greene. The report said that the high school outfielder from Georgia received a $1 million signing bonus.

The deadline for signing drafted players is midnight Monday. The Phillies are also still hopeful they will sign second-round pick Roman Quinn, a high school shortstop from Florida.

The team also announced the official signing of a minor-league contract by pitcher David Bush, a Conestoga High product. Bush will report to triple-A Lehigh Valley.

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Posted by Bob Brookover @ 1:33 PM  Permalink | 78 comments
78
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:49 PM, 08/15/2011
    Anyone else think this is a bit of an extreme overpay on the Phillies part? I can understand having to overpay with Cosart and Singleton, but this guy, too?
    — andrewfrombrooklyn
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:52 PM, 08/15/2011
    Who cares? I'll take a missing offensive piece over unproven talent any day. Any one or all of these guys can be a bust.
    — philly-born
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:55 PM, 08/15/2011
    andrewfrombrooklyn- yeah I agree, I kind of cringed when I saw this. That's a package that would be worthy of landing a Matt kemp or Justin Upton. I like Pence and he has played well, but this certainly seems like a lot to give up for him.
    — Ed Gein
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:57 PM, 08/15/2011
    RUBEN AMARO IS A MORON! TRADE THE WHOLE FARM!!! YOU JUST GOT HOSED BY ED WADE!!!
    — TheGuyInCharge69
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:01 PM, 08/15/2011
    You are a fool.
    — Mt. Airy Phils Phan
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:38 PM, 08/15/2011
    your an idiot
    — jamarder
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:57 PM, 08/15/2011
    Talk to me in Oct when we are having our World Series parade.
    — Flyboy24
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:58 PM, 08/15/2011
    Very good argument that the Phils gave up more to get Pence than they did to get Doc... All worth it if they win it all
    — FABER
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:02 PM, 08/15/2011
    the kid is 19, i've never heard of him before and certainly won't shed a tear now that he's the final piece in getting the Phils a real right-handed bat for the forseeable future. This is the right deal for the Phils right now...regardless if those guys pan out (which they most likely will not)
    — nyphillyguy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:03 PM, 08/15/2011
    Whine away about prospects. Meanwhile, Michael Taylor, now 25, cannot crack the Oakland As' active roster, let alone compete with such future non-HOF'ers as Coco Crisp and David DeJesus in the outfield.
    — ghostofozark
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:47 PM, 08/15/2011
    Michael Taylor is not a bust, but certainly not major league ready..... where the f is jokewolf 10 so he can see this?????
    — jamarder
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:06 PM, 08/15/2011
    Look we will all agree that if the Phillies win the world series this year, then this deal is a success, but at the sametime they gave up a lot of talent for a guy who is a GOOD mlb player, but not a superstar. I do think they gave up more in this package then what they gave up for Doc, although D'arnaud is looking like he will be an all-star at a premium position (C).
    — Ed Gein
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:06 PM, 08/15/2011
    Yeah, that is a bit surprising (that the "future considerations" turned out to be such a strong prospect), but let's not forget, we're going to get a parade as part of this trade as well. Hollllllllllllla!
    — 5NOT4
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:09 PM, 08/15/2011
    The bottom line is that we won't know who got hosed for another 5-10 years. All the talk over the last few years has been about how Ruben cleaned out the farm to get Halladay, Lee,Pence, etc., but as of yet none of these farmhands has proven anything. Think about how many guys come into the farm system every year as compared to how many ever actually come up and become impactful players. None of those guys traded to Cleveland have shown anything. does anyone even know where Michael Taylor is anymore? And isnt he like 28 years old by now? JA Happ and his 6+ era? I hated losing Drabek, Cosart, and Singleton because they have more potential skills than most prospects but none of them are sure things. I'm sure 1 or 2 of these guys will indeed come back to haunt the Phils but the percentages say that most of them will likely never have much of an impact. Remember, teams like the A's, Pirates, Royals always keep their prospects and what have they ever won? Do you want to go back to that kind of club where you never have a chance to win? The Phils kept their prospects and spent 2 decades losing (outside of a flukey 1993).
    — Sewellmatt
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:05 PM, 08/15/2011
    The other thing your comment reminded me of, is the fact that after every one of these trades all anyone could talk about was how the farm system has been wiped out. Yet somehow, we keep finding top prospects within that farm system to trade for top flight MLB talent. maybe, just maybe, the people commenting on philly.com don't really know much about what talent is or isn't available in the farm system.
    Meanwhile, Pence, the so called "good" ball player is hitting over .300 with power and hitting in the clutch. Beltran, the superstar, last I saw, is hitting .250 and the giants have been in a tailspin since acquiring him.
    So basically you are correct, this team is built to win now, and the farm system helps them to constantly keep bringing in talent we know, not talent we don't. And hell, it seems to be working
    — birdsfaninnc


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About Matt Gelb and Bob Brookover












Bob Brookover and Matt Gelb team up for their third straight season covering the Phillies for the Inquirer and philly.com.

This is Brookover’s second stint writing about the Phillies, having joined the coverage team after seven years as an Eagles beat writer. Brookover was hired by The Inquirer in 2000 as the Phillies beat writer after spending 13 years writing about the team for two suburban newspapers. While on the Eagles beat, Brookover, who had covered just two winning Phillies teams in 15 seasons, saw the Phillies move into a cash-cow new ballpark and begin playing a brand of the game he found unrecognizable. Follow him on Twitter here.

Gelb is in his third season covering the Phillies. He was hired by The Inquirer in August 2009 after graduating from Syracuse University. He has also covered baseball at The Star-Ledger and Cape Cod Times. Born and raised in Bucks County, he attended Central Bucks High School West. Follow him on Twitter here.
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