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Houston Astros and Detroit Tigers Both Win In Completion Of Jose Veras Trade


Thomas Campbell – USA TODAY Sports

After the hefty amount of moves the Houston Astros made before and after the trade deadline, it’s easy to forget that they were still owed one more player from the Detroit Tigers for the acquisition of Jose Veras. Initially, with Veras taking it up a notch for his new squad, it appeared on the surface that the Tigers were winners in the deal. But how did the Astros turn out?

The Astros had already acquired outfielder Danry Vasquez, who is currently engaged in a championship title race for Single-A Quad City River Bandits. Since being acquired by the Astros, he hit .288 with three HRs and 20 RBIs while only striking out 15 times in 118 at-bats.

His stats had improved a good amount compared to his numbers within the Tigers’ organization. That’s a fairly decent piece in an already outstanding minor league system. The player to be named later in the deal has now been named – right-handed pitcher David Paulino.

Paulino is an impressive physical specimen. He’s 6-foot-5 and 180 pounds. Scouting reports note the strength of Paulino’s arm, as he has been hitting 97 mph on his fastball, an impressive number for someone as young as 19. He may even grow into more velocity.

Overall, since joining the Tigers organization in 2011, Paulino has thrown 39 innings at a 1.62 ERA while striking out 9.5 per nine and only walking 2.8. Paulino is, however, on the 60-day disabled list, having underwent Tommy John surgery.

So who won in the deal?

Seeing as how the Astros gave up a 32-year old reliever with a 3.83 ERA for the pair, it appears both team won in this deal, as Veras has improved to a 2.73 ERA since joining the Tigers. GM Jeff Luhnow continues to prove that he is a wily deal maker, and hopefully it will pay dividends sooner rather than later for the young and upcoming Astros.

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