The Astros have traded 34-year old switch hitting 1B Lance Berkman and $4 million bucks to the Yankees for 25-year old righty reliever Mark Melancon and 21-year old switch hitting 2B/3B/SS Jimmy Paredes. Berkman played in 85 games for the Astros this season and he was 73 of 298 (.245 avg, .808 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 13 homers and 49 RBIs. He played in 1,592 games in his 12 years with the Astros and he was 1,648 of 5,560 (.296 avg, .959 OPS) with 1,008 runs scored, 326 homers, 1,090 RBIs and 82 stolen bases. The Astros will likely bring Mark Melancon right up to work out of the bullpen. He was the Yankees’ #15 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. Melancon has pitched in 15 games (0 starts) in the last two years for the Yankees and he is 0-1 with a 4.87 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. He has pitched in 40 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he was 6-1 with 6 saves, a 3.67 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. Jimmy Paredes has played in 99 games in A-ball this season and he is 114 of 404 (.282 avg, .721 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 5 homers, 48 RBIs and 36 stolen bases. He has now played in 265 games in four years in the minors and he is 290 of 1,036 (.280 avg, .706 OPS) with 149 runs scored, 10 homers, 122 RBIs and 70 stolen bases. This was not much of a haul for Lance Berkman especially with the Astros kicking in $4 million bucks.

The Astros have released 27-year old righty swinging 1B Tommy Everidge. Everidge played in 95 games in AAA-ball this season and he was 90 of 360 (.250 avg, .733 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 12 homers and 50 RBIs. The Astros released Everidge because they needed his roster spot for Brett Wallace.

The Astros have traded 32-year old righty starting pitcher Roy Oswalt to the Phillies for 27-year old lefty starting pitcher J.A. Happ, 19-year old lefty swinging outfielder Anthony Gose and 19-year old switch hitting SS Jonathan Villar. Oswalt pitched in 20 games (all starts) for the Astros this season and he was 6-12 with a 3.42 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Oswalt finishes his career with the Astros pitching in 303 games (291 starts) in 10 years with them and he was 143-82 with a 3.24 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He was a 3-time All-Star for the Astros and he finished in the top five of the Cy Young Award voting five times in Houston. J.A. Happ will replace Oswalt in the Astros’ starting rotation. He has started 3 games for the Phillies this year and he is 1-0 with a 1.76 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. He has now pitched in 47 games (31 starts) in parts of four years in the majors and he is 14-5 with a 3.11 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. The biggest issue with Happ so far in his major league career has been his control as he has walked 84 batters in only 217 innings. Jonathan Villar was the Phillies’ #22 prospect according to Baseball America coming into this season. Villar played in 100 games in A-ball this year for the Phillies and he was 101 of 371 (.272 avg, .690 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 2 homers, 36 RBIs and 38 stolen bases. He has now played in 204 games in three years in the minors and he is 194 of 718 (.270 avg, .698 OPS) with 118 runs scored, 3 homers, 76 RBIs and 82 stolen bases. Anthony Gose was the Phillies’ #6 prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. Gose played in 103 games in A-ball for the Phillies this year and he was 110 of 418 (.263 avg, .710 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 4 homers, 20 RBIs and 36 stolen bases. He has now played in 245 games in his three years in the minors and he is 252 of 967 (.261 avg, .690 OPS) with 143 runs scored, 6 homers, 75 RBIs and 115 stolen bases.

UPDATE: The Astros have traded 19-year old lefty swinging outfielder Anthony Gose to the Blue Jays for 23-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B Brett Wallace. Wallace came into this season as the A’s #2 prospect according to Baseball America. Wallace has played in 95 games in AAA-ball for the Blue Jays this year and he is 116 of 385 (.301 avg, .868 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 18 homers and 61 RBIs. Wallace has now played in 287 games in three years in the minors and he is 340 for 1,119 (.304 avg, .863 OPS) with 181 runs scored, 46 homers and 160 RBIs. Getting Wallace from the Blue Jays could mean that Lance Berkman is the next highly paid player to be leaving the Astros. I still like the deals the Astros made as Wallace, Happ and Villar seem like solid value for Oswalt.

The Astros are looking smart for benching Pedro Feliz and bringing up Chris Johnson to start at 3B. Johnson has played in 33 games for the Astros this year and he is 35 of 111 (.315 avg, .832 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 3 homers, 17 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The only thing he will have to work on appears to be plate discipline as he has whiffed 27 times while only walking 3 times so far this year. The Astros need to keep going with the younger players to see what they have for the future.

26-year old righty swinging shortstop Angel Sanchez is off to a good start for the Houston Astros. Sanchez has played in 15 games for the Astros this year and he is 17 of 52 (.327 avg, .798 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 4 RBIs. The Astros are hoping that Sanchez keeps up the good work as SS has been a black hole for them this year. Tommy Manzella and Oswaldo Navarro don’t seem to be the answer at SS for the Astros.

The Houston Astros have released 33-year old lefty swinging shortstop Ramon Vazquez. Vazquez played in 16 games in AAA-ball for the Houston Astros and he was 19 of 54 (.352 avg, .900 OPS) with 6 runs scored and 7 RBIs. I think they should have held onto Vazquez a little longer as the Astros might be making some trades to open up a roster spot for him. I guess the Astros have faith that they will be able to either trade for a SS or that Angel Sanchez is the real deal.

The Astros have designated 25-year old lefty starting pitcher Polin Trinidad and 30-year old righty reliever Gary Majewski for assignment. Polin Trinidad came into this season as the Astros’ #26 prospect according to Baseball America. Trinidad has pitched in 19 games (16 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he is 3-6 with a 4.55 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He has now pitched in 129 games (117 starts) in his six years in the minors and he is 39-38 with 3 saves, a 3.70 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. The Astros would like to keep him if possible. Gary Majewski only pitched in 1 game for the Astros this year working 2 innings in which he allowed 5 hits and 5 earned runs. They won’t miss him one bit. Trinidad and Majewski lost their spots on the 40-man roster to make room for Anderson Hernandez and Nelson Figueroa.

The Houston Astros have claimed 36-year old righty starter/reliever Nelson Figueroa and 27-year old switch hitting shortstop Anderson Hernandez off waivers. Figueroa pitched in 13 games (1 start) for the Phillies this year and he was 2-1 with 1 save, a 3.46 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He has now pitched in 119 games (50 starts) in his 8 years in the majors and he is 15-29 with 1 save, a 4.47 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. It’s quite possible that the Astros will put Figueroa right into the rotation in Brian Moehler’s spot. Anderson Hernandez played in 22 games for the Indians this year and he was 15 of 61 (.246 avg, .565 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 208 games in his major league career and he is 146 of 595 (.245 avg, .621 OPS) with 62 runs scored, 4 homers, 59 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Look for Hernandez to get a lot of P.T. as he can also handle 2B and 3B defensively. It’s not out of the question that the Astros would consider starting Hernandez at SS. I like these two pickups for the Astros.

Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman are the players worth the most on the open market for the Astros but they shouldn’t sell either of them for pennies on a dollar. That’s why I wouldn’t be surprised if they were both still on the Astros come August 1st. I would flip Brett Myers to the Twins for 3B Danny Valencia, SS Trevor Plouffe and 2B Alexi Casilla. I would then flip Jeff Keppinger to the Mets for righty reliever Tobi Stoner. If the Astros made those two deals they would start all three of the guys they get from the Twins and Stoner would likely be the new 7th inning man for the Astros. They don’t need to have a firesale….the Astros just need to make quality trades.

The Astros could use help in middle relief so maybe they should make a call to 29-year old righty reliever Jonah Bayliss who is pitching decent in AAA for them. Bayliss has pitched in 27 games (0 starts) this season in AAA-ball and he is 1-3 with a 3.27 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He has whiffed 41 batters in 41 1/3 innings in the minors so his stuff must be pretty decent. At this point in the season it wouldn’t hurt to give Bayliss a chance to show what he can do.