Philadelphia Phillies: Ken Giles trade still difficult to evaluate

It’s been over four years since the Philadelphia Phillies sent fireballing closer Ken Giles to the Houston Astros, and it’s still hard to tell if there was a true winner and loser.

Ken Giles provided some real excitement for the Philadelphia Phillies when he burst onto the major league scene in 2014, compiling a 1.18 ERA over 44 appearances and instantly earning the “future closer” label. He’d ascend to that role in the latter half of the following season, turning in a 1.80 ERA in 2015. Over those two campaigns with the Phils, the 25-year old Giles struck out 151 hitters over 115.2 innings while sporting a miniscule 1.56 ERA. The Phillies appeared to have a legitimate stud on their hands.

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There was just one problem.

When you’re a lousy team, and those Phillies sure fit the bill, an elite closer is a luxury that you not only don’t need but that you really can’t afford. In all truth, you’re better off flipping such an asset for pieces that will fill holes elsewhere in your lineup and organization. And that’s exactly what the Phillies did on December 12, 2015, pulling the trigger on this deal with the Houston Astros.

That’s seven players, all pitchers, involved in the deal. And in case you’re wondering, the two Arauzes are not related. Weird though. Also, neither has appeared in MLB to date. This swap made perfect sense, though, as an improving Astros team added immediate help at the end of games as they pushed closer to assembling a championship roster. The Phillies, in need of as much help as possible, got a number of promising arms in the hope that something would shake out.

So, where are we, all these years later?

For Giles, it’s truly been a mixed bag. In 2016, he found himself in a bullpen committee, and he turned in disappointing results relative to what the Astros paid for him. But he turned things around in 2017, notching 34 saves. Then, in the playoffs, the wheels fell off. Houston would go on to win the World Series (if you believe that sort of thing), but Giles had little to nothing to do with it. Still, a title is a title, so you can say that the Astros accomplished their mission if you go by the strict letter of the law.

As for the haul that the Phillies got in return, it’s been largely a disappointment.

Mark Appel was a colossal bust, never appearing in the major leagues. It’s no wonder that the Astros gave up on him, despite the fact that he had been the #1 overall pick just two years before. He was basically the Pavel Brendl of baseball, although Brendl wasn’t picked first and at least he made the big leagues.

Brett Oberholtzer showed poorly in his one season for the Phils, a disappointing development for the Delaware native, while Tom Eshelman never appeared for the Phillies before they traded him to Baltimore in 2019.

And then there’s Vince Velasquez.

Some would say that his continuing presence on the Phillies’ roster means that they still have a chance to come out as the “winners” of the Giles trade. And technically, yes, as long as he can actively contribute to the Phillies winning games, the Giles verdict remains open. But let’s get real here.

In what world is Vinny Velasquez anything other than a talented but flawed “thrower” who only amounts to about a league average pitcher at best when all is said and done? Maybe the Phillies should have just immediately installed him as the closer to replace Giles, saving themselves years of potential headaches, but they probably thought they owed it to themselves to give him a long look in the rotation.

Well, this “long look” is headed into Year 5, and the excitement is long gone. Barring some sort of miraculous turnaround by Vinny V, the fact that the Phillies didn’t get a single above average arm out of the Giles trade means that they can’t be declared a winner in this deal. Giles’ time in Houston was fairly short before he was dealt to Toronto, but he did make a contribution for a championship club (during the regular season) at least, so I think that the Astros get the tiniest of wins on this one.

The Gregg Jefferies cycle game. dark. Next

The Phillies did well enough in the Giles trade to say that it wasn’t a regrettable decision, and Giles never turned into the second coming of Mariano Rivera. But it would have been nice to have gotten some kind of long-term piece in exchange. No, I’m not counting Velasquez. This trade was as close to a draw as you can get, with both clubs getting something out of it, even if they didn’t get everything that they had hoped for.

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