Preston Wilson DFA'ed/Vacated spot for Hirsh

[Solair Wright]

Aug. 13, 2006, 2:25AM
No power means end for Wilson

By BRIAN MCTAGGART
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
Preston Wilson shuffled across the floor of the Astros' clubhouse upon his arrival at Minute Maid Park on Saturday, taking good-natured ribbing from teammates about his unusual headwear.

The playful mood turned solemn moments later when Wilson was informed by Astros general manager Tim Purpura and manager Phil Garner he was no longer a part of the team's future.

Wilson, the Astros' biggest offseason acquisition, was designated for assignment prior to Saturday's game, meaning the Astros have 10 days to trade or release the outfielder.

"This I did not see coming," said Wilson, who signed a one-year contract worth $4 million in January with a club option for three additional years at $8 million per year. "I haven't seen a lot of stuff that's been happening around here the last couple of weeks, and this one adds to the list."

Wilson, 32, was hitting .269 with nine homers and was second on the team with 55 RBIs but had seen his playing time cut dramatically in recent weeks with the emergence of Luke Scott and resurgence of Willy Taveras. Wilson struck out 94 times in 390 at-bats.

Space needed for Hirsh
The Astros had to make a roster move prior to Saturday's game to make room for righthander Jason Hirsh, who lost his major league debut Saturday 6-3 to San Diego.

The club wanted to carry 12 pitchers, forcing management to send out a position player.

Because outfielder Jason Lane did not clear waivers and Chris Burke, Orlando Palmeiro and Mike Lamb are important pieces to the puzzle, Wilson found himself out of work.

"Obviously, we had a young player in Luke Scott come up and grab his spot," Purpura said. "It's a difficult situation to put a veteran player in, but we're going to make our best efforts to trade him to a place he could get some playing time.

"If not, we'll certainly explore whether we should release him or not."

Source was from: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/4113514.html

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

I think he'll find a job with another contending team.

[wilkerson_rulz-06]

Now you see what he is:

A worthless player who can drive in the most useless runs and hits meaningless homers and is a mediocre fielder and strikes out a ton and has a huge paycheck.

[Solair Wright]

Good thing the Cardinals didn't sign him. PW has the bad habit of striking out, but he doesn't help the team by striking out in pressure/pinch situations. My question about PW is: Why did Houston sign him to a long-term and very expensive contract when he hits for random power?

[PopTop]

To answer your question Solair, Houston's front office makes mistakes just like the rest of the front offices.

Wilson's contract really wasn't that expensive. Only '06 was guaranteed at a $4 million price tag. The money we got from Tampa in the deal for Aubrey Huff will cover what we owe Wilson the rest of the year. The rest of Preston's contract was in the form of club options.

[lamearm]

How in hell is Palmeiro an "important piece of the puzzle"? I'll tell you why...The Astros only have to pay Wilson 1 1/2 months to finish out his contract. They would have had to pay OP 13 1/2 months to satisfy his contract. Important to the bottom line, not so important as a performer...

[PopTop]

Originally Posted by lamearm

How in hell is Palmeiro an "important piece of the puzzle"? I'll tell you why...The Astros only have to pay Wilson 1 1/2 months to finish out his contract. They would have had to pay OP 13 1/2 months to satisfy his contract. Important to the bottom line, not so important as a performer...

If Palmeiro's contract was for the same amount as Wilson's annual rate, you might be on to something. It wouldn't have cost as much to cut Palmeiro (prorate $950K this year and then about $1.2 million next year) as it did to release Wilson (about $1.5 million rest of this year plus a $600K buyout for next year).

[EvanAparra]

Originally Posted by PopTop

To answer your question Solair, Houston's front office makes mistakes just like the rest of the front offices.

Wilson's contract really wasn't that expensive. Only '06 was guaranteed at a $4 million price tag. The money we got from Tampa in the deal for Aubrey Huff will cover what we owe Wilson the rest of the year. The rest of Preston's contract was in the form of club options.

Is that they way you look at it? Any time the front office makes a mistake you just say, "Eh, it happens" . I mean teams make mistakes, but you cant just ignore them because it happens all over baseball... With that attitude the front office would just throw money around blindly and not worry about performance because "front office makes mistakes".