Carlos Lee dealt to the Miami Marlins

Earlier this week Houston Astros first baseman/outfielder, Carlos Lee, nixed a deal to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now according to reports Lee will be traded to the Miami Marlins.

Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle reported that Lee was removed from the Astros’ 6-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the seventh inning and his locker was cleared out.

Buster Olney of ESPN says that the deal is done and reports the Marlins are trading Matt Dominguez and pitcher Rob Rasmussen for Carlos Lee.

Dominguez, 22, was the Baseball America’s No. 4 prospect in the Miami organization entering the year. An excellent defensive third baseman who got a brief stint in the majors last year, he’s struggled with the bat for Triple-A New Orleans hitting .234 with a .647 OPS.


Rasmussen, 23, has a 3.90 ERA in 17 starts at high Class A and was rated No. 7 in the organization by Baseball America.


The Astros could potentially make out in the deal, but the downside is that they may have to pay a big chunk of Lee’s remaining salary. This probably won’t be the end of the Astros’ selling of assets before the trade deadline.

Berkman feels Selig extorted the Astros

Lance Berkman may find himself in a meeting with the commissioner for some rather opinionated statements he had regarding the sale and impending move of the Houston Astros to the American League.

Berkman was a long time Astro and still a popular figure in the Houston area, even though he plays for the division rival St. Louis Cardinals. He didn’t bite his tongue on his feelings about how Bud Selig handled the sale of the Astros and says he would tell him if he was given the chance.

“I hate it. I feel like, basically, the commissioner extorted Jim Crane into moving the Astros,” Berkman said of Houston’s new owner during a conversation with two reporters.   


“If he (Selig) called me, I would tell him,” Berkman said. 


Berkman also said he would have no problem telling Selig he extorted the Astros.

“Yeah, because I think that’s exactly what it was: “We’re going to hold the sale of the team up until you guys agree to switch’,” Berkman said. “And it just so happens that the Astros were being sold right at the optimal time for that to happen.”


Furthermore Berkman doesn’t like the Astros’ move to American League and doesn’t care for their style of baseball. He says it makes no sense for the Astros to go to the American League and if anyone should go it should be the Milwaukee Brewers.

“It makes a heck of a lot more sense for the Brewers to go back to the American League from a historical standpoint,” Berkman said. “Maybe not geographically, but it makes limited sense for the Astros to move from a geographic standpoint because they have the Rangers but then most of their away games are going to be starting at 9:30 p.m. Houston time.


“I just think when you have a franchise that has 50 years as a National League entity, and then you switch over to the American League, I just don’t like it. I’m not in favor of it. I don’t like the AL style of baseball to begin with. That plus the history element of it makes it … I don’t like it.” 


I do agree that Milwaukee should make the switch back to the American League since they have a team built for that style of play. But from a competitive standpoint, I don’t think the Brewers can win consistently with the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers, Angels and Rangers around.