Phillies Add Pence in Exchange for Prospects

The Giants traded for Carlos Beltran, and the Phillies felt they needed to make a move.  Tonight, they were able to beat out the Braves and successfully trade for Hunter Pence of the Astros.  With Beltran off the market, Pence was the next big offensive piece available, but the Astros had quite a hefty asking price (which is what they should have done, as Pence is about the only player who was putting fans in the seats at Minute Maid Park this season).  The Phillies are sending Houston top pitching prospect Jarred Cosart (9-8 with a 3.92 ERA for the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers), top hitting prospect Jonathan Singleton (.284 with 9 home runs and 47 RBI for Clearwater), and two more players, one of which is suspected to be Double-A pitcher Josh Zeid.  The Braves apparently offered four prospects to the Astros for Pence, but they were still discussing pieces when the trade was made this evening.

The move to grab Pence will help the Phillies push the Braves farther behind in the standings and will put them in a better position should they need to face the Giants again in the playoffs.  The Phillies offense was already better than that of San Francisco, but not by much.  The right field combo of Ben Francisco and Domonic Brown has been below average, batting .233 combined with 11 home runs and only 49 RBIs.  Pence himself is batting .308 with 11 home runs and 62 RBIs.  He isn't great defensively, but he plays with a high level of intensity and he produces.  He hit 25 home runs each of the last three seasons.  Pence is also under contract through 2013, an advantage that Carlos Beltran did not have.  The Phillies offense has gained some steam in recent weeks and it should only continue to get better with Pence, who is a career .300 hitter at Citizens Bank Park.  Now that the Phillies have responded to the Giants trade for Beltran, the Braves are the team most in need of a bat.  Without one, they will be in trouble as the Phillies and Giants have positioned themselves well for deep playoff runs.