Astros Acquire Beltran
The Houston Astros’ acquisition of Carlos Beltran not only gives them a quality centerfielder with a very good bat, but allows them to switch Craig Biggio to leftfield where he’ll be less of a liability defensively. It’s not exactly acquiring Randy Johnson circa 1998, but I’d say it’s close. Last year the Cubs were the big movers. This year, Houston has struck first. With Jeff Bagwell and Biggio running out of time, and Roger Clemens on a one year lease, the Astros are clearly doing everything they can to win the World Series this year.
It will be interesting to see if the Cubs answer the Beltran acquisition like they did the Clemens one with Greg Maddux. Shortstop is the only obvious upgrade position. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of options in that regard. Of course, with the way the Cardinals are playing (who saw Chris Carpenter’s comeback?), perhaps neither team will catch St. Louis.