The one move they made was a bonus - the San Diego Padres took Morgan Ensberg for cash or a player to be named later. The Astros designated the slumping Ensberg for assignment on Sunday and they had 10 days to either trade Ensberg or waive him.
“I did have some reasonable expectation (of trading him) because of the timing,” said Astros general manager Tim Purpura. “Being at the trade deadline, players are certainly in demand and this is the kind of time where you can take a gamble on a player who is maybe not performing so well.”
Ensberg, an All-Star in 2005, was hitting only .232 this season. A Southern California native, Ensberg recently bought a house near San Diego.
“I do think the change of scenery is going to help him,” Purpura said. “This is a player with a lot of talent.”
While Ensberg struggled this season, Lamb and Loretta split the games he didn’t start at third base. Lamb, who bats left-handed, was hitting .299 and Loretta, a right-handed bat, is hitting .294.
Lamb and Loretta become free agents after the season and both names came up in last-minute trade talks Purpura had with other teams. But Purpura never heard a deal he liked involving either player.
“The return on what we could get for them never came up to anything close to what we value them at,” Purpura said. “Basically, it came down to players that we didn’t think would ever get to the big leagues. And those were the kind of players that were offered.”
The Astros traded reliever Dan Wheeler to Tampa Bay on Saturday for Ty Wigginton, another third baseman. In the end, the Astros were unwilling to part with Brad Lidge, who’s pitched well since regaining the closer role in June.
Purpura said the Astros entered the trading season hoping to replenish their farm system with position players. He was “disappointed” they didn’t get more done, but added that the versatile Wigginton was brought in to add depth to the infield.
Purpura was heading to Round Rock and Corpus Christi this week to evaluate the Astros’ Triple-A and Double-A teams.
“We know, going into next year, we have a variety of areas we want to fill,” Purpura said. “Position-player wise, yeah, we’re thin. The fact of any farm system, there are always cycles your prospects go in. You have those cycles of up and down.”
The Astros opened a three-game series in Atlanta on Tuesday night with a 46-59 record. Purpura didn’t plan to call up any minor leaguers before mid-September, when teams are allowed to expand their rosters.
“I don’t think it’s in the nature of this organization or certainly the players to say, ‘Well, we’re giving up on this year,” he said. “You’re trying to win today. No matter what happens, that’s your objective.”
