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You probably don't need me to point Ed Wade's failings as a general manager out to you continuously, but given that some people still attribute their near-playoff run last year to some kind of genius on his part, I feel like it's important to point out why that's just not true. Today, the Astros inked an $8 million deal with closer Jose Valverde, avoiding arbitration. That seems like a decent deal for a decent closer, but consider that it basically comes at the expense of Ty Wigginton. Wigginton was non-tendered rather than being given a similar contract by Houston after a career year last year when he hit . So the Astros will now play Geoff Blum at third base, who's probably a considerable downgrade from Wigginton, and instead have a guy that will pitch 70 innings this year, if the Astros are lucky.
Really, Houston could've kept Wigginton at third and dealt Valverde, who's led the NL in saves the past two seasons. He's not a bad closer, but a position player is always going to be more valuable, especially for a team that doesn't have much pop to back Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee. If the Astros are trying to keep pace with the Cardinals, Cubs, and Brewers, this isn't the way to do it.
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