Photo Credit: Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports
The winter meetings have been hot all day Wednesday with major league and minor league ball players changing teams at a record pace.
The Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies swapped a four players, as closer Ken Giles will take his services to Houston, while the Phillies will get pitchers Vincent Velasquez and Brett Oberholtzer, along with Minor League outfielder Derek Fisher.
Giles, 24-years old and the centerpiece of the deal, saved 15 games for the Phillies in 2015, in only his second full season in the majors. He joins the back-end of the Astros bullpen that showcased Luke Gregerson, who saved 31 in 2015.
Velasquez, 23 years old, started seven of the 19 games he appeared in, finishing 1-1, with a 4.37 ERA, and 58 strikeouts in 55.2 innings.
Oberholzter, 26 years old, has been with the ‘Stros since he made his major league debut in 2013, and in three seasons, he is 11-20, with a 3.94 ERA, with 166 strikeouts in 253.2 inings.
The Phillies also land the Astros #8 prospect, 22-year-old outfielder, Derek Fisher, who batted a combined .275, with 16 home runs and 63 RBI’s between Class-A (Full) and Class-A (Adv).
David Conde
David is the Co-Founder and Executive Editor of Legends On Deck®, as well as a Co-Host on Legends On Deck Podcast. David was a Senior Editor for MetsMerizedOnline.com, MetsMinors.net and Contributor for Hardballchat.com that spanned from 2010 to 2014. David made his MLB Debut as a writer in June 2014, while covering the NY Mets at Citi Field, for MetsmerizedOnline.com. David also coaches baseball for ages 13-15, a Babe Ruth League team in his local community. David's passion is coaching the game he loves to the future Legends of Tomorrow as well as making available a website that people can have fun sharing and reading. David is also passionate about his career as a Mortgage Loan Officer which allows him to help many families reach their dreams of owning a home. Connect with David via his Social Media pages as he loves to chat all about baseball.
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