Ed Wade continued stocking the Astros shelves with Phils retreads as the recently designated Sergio Escalona was traded to the Astros for 23 year old 2B Albert Cartwright. Cartwright split time between High A and AA last season hitting a combined .294/.355/.472 in 547 AB’s with 10 HR and 55 RBI’s to go along with 31 SB’s. On the substantial down side, Cartwright hit just .229/.289/.271 in his 140 AA AB’s and struck out in 26% of his AA at bats. He additionally committed 29 errors in 119 games at second base last season.
43 thoughts on “Escalona Traded to Astros”
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Phuture Phillies 
2b Talent is better than none.
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i already like him better than galvis and hernandez and maybe garcia! the worst thing about this site is it makes you want the season to start sooner! and i mean the 2013 Season…j/k keep up the good work!
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Saw that this guy Cartwright had 4000 errors last year. Or something like that. His bat showed some pop and Escalona was going nowhere in the system, so I guess it’s a fine trade. Or whatever.
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Says Eddie Wade signed Escalona in 2004 out of Venezuela, so it’s his guy. Says Sergio will compete with Gustavo Chacin and 2 other guys to be LH relief for Astros bullpen, maybe he sticks, maybe he works out, it will be seen.
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He had some pop in A ball. That “pop” disappeared fast when he moved to AA.
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Well, his A ball was played in probably the most Offense friendly league in the minors.
He’s probably an Organizational guy, but he appears to have some speed given his doubles and triples, as well as stolen base numbers.
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@Nepp – plus that A Ball was the CAL league, which we’ve been told is a hitter’s league by anyone who dislikes Tyson Gillies so much that his high average there two years ago has to some how be tarnished. So Cartwright’s 10 HR are actually equal to 10 GIDP, and he never really had pop to begin with.
Where’s this guy wind up? Reading?
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“So Cartwright’s 10 HR are actually equal to 10 GIDP, and he never really had pop to begin with.”
lol
I heard in the Cal league you can hit homeruns out of the park without even lifting the ball off the ground…
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Yup – it’s called a “ground” rule homerun.
That was terrible. I apologize.
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Does anyone want to redo the partially completed top 30? What do ya think… top 10?
Disclaimer: This was a joke.
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This is a classic no downside move. There was no place for Escalona, so the Phillies got a young middle infielder in what must be considered a crapshoot move. But it’s a smart calculated gamble. Eddie Wade – the gift that keeps giving.
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Exactly. Cant hurt to have another 2B in the system…even if he turns out to be just filler.
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Cartwright has very limited upside.
Which makes him our 3rd/4th best middle infield prospect.
Sigh.
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Ed Wade won this trade. Escolona has a shot of playing in the bigs. Cartwright may have a shot at AAA.
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Milbprospects.blogspot.com has Cartwright at #385 on their top 2000 prospect list for 2011 two spots behind Phillippe Aumont.
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Phil’s released Escalona and could have possibly received zilch in return if he would have refused assignment, which could easily happen if any other team showed an easier path to the bigs.
Since we actually received someone with some potential, it’s a win for us.
Something for nothing.
I don’t see him pushing Chase out of his spot anytime soon, but with the dirth of MI talent it does not hurt to have someone else who someday could be a MI reserve.
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Escalona was DFA’d so getting anything for him was a good move. Not sure what they got will help the big club be he does add depth at a position of need in the organization.
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Wade didn’t “win” anything. Escalona was already gone…this is better than the nothing we would have got otherwise. Clearly Wade wanted to get him before he hit the open market and tossed us a bone.
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Now its time to get rid of zagurski and matheison they both are from ed wade time and have not done much at the major league level and its not like we are going to need them this year. Next year we have schwimer and stutes coming up so maybe see if wade wants them.
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We needed depth when it came to left-handed bullpen pitchers, and we just contributed to that by giving up Escalona for some chump.
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Clearly, the FO doesn’t feel that Escalona was a viable option as a LH Reliever. Given his inconsistency, age and struggles, I dont really disagree with that assessment.
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I think that this trade is good for both teams. The phillies traded a guy who was never going to play another game for them and got a young middle infield prospect that will probably never make the majors but at least has a shot. The astros traded a guy who most likely won’t play in the majors and got a lefty that has a shot to be in their majors.
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BTW that milbprospectsblog top 2000 thing is really bad. They have Anthony Hewitt ranked in the 200s and Brody Colvin in the 300s.
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Middle infielder with speed, at least has defensive and pinch runner benefit.
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His upside may be as a Utility guy, but sadly that isn’t much different than somebody like Galvis, and at least Cartwright looks like he may have a little bit of power potential. We were losing Escalona anyway, so there’s nothing to lose in this trade.
A little lowkey trade with fairly limited upside, but it’s better than nothing.
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I think from a long term perspective I rather would have lost Bocock, but I guess they need middle infield depth more than a warm left-handed body. Still, I wonder if they may regret this at some point–they’re basically one injury away from having Mike Zagurski as their second lefthander, not a stretch to predict with either Bastardo or Romero, and two injuries from having … well, that’s precisely the problem. There’s no one on the 40-man, and can’t even think of anyone in the high minors who remotely fits the description. Flande’s gone. Looking down the Phuturephillies profile list I see Matt Way (low minors), Savery (no longer a pitcher) and Nick Hernandez (sorry, but who?). Not that Escalona is great, but it seems like journeymen middle infielders are easier to find than LOOGYs, at least at a reasonable price.
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A utility guy who can pop one out from time to time and steal a few bases. Not worried about his defense. He will improve with time, coaching, and comfort level in upper minors and majors. Looks like a gut who has maybe a 25-35% chance to be a utility guy like Tomas Perez–for free.
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Test
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Couple points here. Cartwright doesn’t look like much of a prospect. Late late round pick who has never hit outside of an extreme hitters haven in Lancaster. I honestly think Carlos Rivero is a better prospect.
As far as lefty relief, the Phillies addressed that with their NRIs bringing in Juan Perez, Dan Meyer and Ryan Feireabend (and I think I’m missing another). It seemed obvious that the Phils didn’t trust Escalona (or even Zagurski for that matter) to take a lefty relief role.
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Phils have Bastardo, Romero, Zagurski, Dan Meyer, Ryan Feierabend, Juan Perez. That’s OK depth for LH specialists.
The last two are fodder, just emergency, last-resort guys.
Zags and Meyers have both had MLB success are are being looked at to bounce back. IMO, Zags has to get himself in shape. He can’t become more and more of a hardball every year.
The first two, of course, have a chance to be pretty good.
Escalona does not have the stuff of any of these guys when they are throwing well. Getting a utility prospect with pop and speed was a nice little strike that could be nothing, could pay off.
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That’s “lardball” and “nice little stroke.”
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Jim callis said Cartwright wasn’t on houstons top 30! Yikes!! Escalona wasn’t gonna play for the phils but Cartwright won’t either he’s org filler. Sergio may pitch for Houston, ed Wade won!!!!
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Cartwright’s SONAR is -0.24. This is in large part due to
a.) his age relative to level, though he didn’t turn 23 till after the season
b.) his home park
c.) his K rate
Middle infielders, however, are always in demand. At 23, he isn’t ancient, and he has some pop. He doesn’t look like a regular on a good team, but if he can handle the position defensively, he’s basically Harold Garica. Error totals are essentially meaningless at all levels, the minors specifically, so I don’t care about that. His dropoff from A+ to AA was drastic, but he basically went from a little league field to a regular park, and thats a huge adjustment to make mid season.
In all honesty, in terms of our middle infield prospects, he’s behind Cesar Hernandez, Garcia and then its a tossup between Galvis, Barnes and Cartwright for me. Escalona is a LOOGY and nothing else. If Cartwright can carve out a career as a utility infielder, that will be far more valuable. The more likely outcome is neither guy amounts to anything at the big league level.
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“ed Wade won!!!!”
How can you possibily say that when he was released? We got something for a player who probably was going to be gone anyway. That’s an intelligent trade, regardless of the warts on the other player we acquired.
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Good move by the Phillies to get something for nothing essentially. I’d probably slot Cartwright behind Garcia and a little behind Galvis (SS defense), but another body at a position of weakness is never a bad thing.
One could still criticize the Phillies use of the 40-man roster this winter. I’d much rather have Jesus Sanchez back than either Escalona or Cartwright. We have used roster spots for Rivero, Bocock and Cesar Hernandez and lost prospects that might have had more value because of that. The Hernandez decision sticks most in my mind as it was unlikely that he would have been drafted and lost out of short season ball. He is a nice prospect but not that good. The consequences are that he now has 3 years of options to work with. He better have a double jump year at some point if he is going to make it.
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Escalona is a stiff but he has more baseball talent than Cartwright. Houston did better in this meaningless deal. A guy who could play a little in MLB is better than a career minor leaguer! If you don’t believe me ask the tens of thousands of minor league player who played pro ball. Ask them if it’s better to play a career in minor league baseball or get a shot to make it to the majors if only for a little while? Ed Wade won!! Lol!
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Btw escalona was dfa’d not released if he was released rube couldn’t of traded him.
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Above- Escalona was not released he was Designated for Assignment and then traded. In what world is a utility infielder , especially one not defensively sound at SS and not a power hitter, more valuable than an MLB (talking upside) Left Handed relief specialist capable of getting outs.
Where would Cartwright get the playing time to move into an MLB utility role. Looking at the rosters , it seems to me Cartwright will return to A(A) for the next season. At AA don’t see him starting over Harold Garcia or Freddy Galvis, and for a back-up you can have Fidel Hernandez, or maybe Troy Hanzawa. AA doesn’t always use a DH, but for that you can choose from the non1B playing half of Joe Savery/Darin Ruf or even James Murphy or Michael Durant or one of Steve Susdorf, D’Arby Myers, Derrick Mitchell. Don’t see the playing time at AA. But in A(A) you got Carlos Perdomo, Adam Buschini, Korby Mintken, Keoni Ruth, Alan Schoenberger, Jeremy Barnes, and Steven Batts(1B-OF). I got it projected that Barnes takes 3B and Batts 1B, and favor Schoenberger for SS, so I
say it is between Perdomo, Buschini, Ruth , Mintken, and Cartwright to play 2B at Clearwater , and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he is awarded Free Agency by the end of Spring Training.
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Both are replacement level talent. Would Escalona have rated in our top 30? I don’t recall a single mention in the threads, and this is a group that nominated Derrick Mitchell!
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I see Cartwright being moved to either LF or RF, or maybe even 3B.
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“In what world is a utility infielder , especially one not defensively sound at SS and not a power hitter, more valuable than an MLB (talking upside) Left Handed relief specialist capable of getting outs”
Don’t think this is true in any world but I also don’t think that Escalona is a MLB Left-handed relief specialist capable of getting outs.
And yes, he was DFA’d, meaning the team had 10 days to either trade or release him. Once released, he could either opt to be a FA or return to the Phillies. Since he would have most likely opted to become a FA anyway, the phillies got a player for him instead.
No harm/no foul…
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Escalona’s lefthandedness is valuable but it appears that he was not a very good pitcher. Still I thought he would have more value than Bocock, Naylor, or Flande.
I agree that Bocock seems like a wasted roster spot. He likely has no chance to make the major league team and has no options left so even if he gets called up he will then be a free agent. Does any other team really want him anyway. Just release him and resign him.
Rivero fits the situation of controllable emergency SS this season. Now that Galvis is on the 40-man he is also controllable. Martinez in the Rule 5 is a similar medicore INF.
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I have little doubt that Freddy Galvis could go to the MLB team and look every bit as inept with a baseball bat as Bocock does, and provide at least equal defensive value. Not problem with seeing Escalona gone, but I’m a little surprised that Bocock didn’t get DFA’d to make room on the 40 man.
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