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August 15, 2006^11:59am
Reedster^1
Listener email: what could the Astros get for Preston Wilson in trade?
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From our mlblogs.com blog...

&b-From Mark: What could the Astros get in return for Preston Wilson in a trade?  Also is there any possibility that they might send him to AAA then bring him back up in 2 weeks when rosters expand?-b&

Not a heckuva lot.  Quite a few teams would be interested in Wilson, I think, among those in contention... but Wilson is probably only looking at a backup job, most likely and as Wilson would just be a potential remedy in case something bad happens, I don't think any teams will be willing to give up anything substantial in return.

Off the top of my head, I could see Preston going to the White Sox as a better OF backup than Rob Mackowiak.  If Podsednik, Dye, or Brian Anderson go down, Wilson is a good option to have.

I am sure Cincy would be interested, as well, for the same reasons.  They just picked up Hollandsworth and, as I intimated on the last podcast, this shouldn't make anyone in Cincy comfortable.  Wilson would suitably fill the gap left when Krivsky traded Kearns.

San Diego is a strong possibility for the same reasons.  Ben Johnson is the backup there, and the older Giles and the perenially injured Dave Roberts add a lot of risk.  Preston still has some basepath speed (not like Roberts, of course), so he would be very useful there.  In San Diego, though, his power numbers will likely slip.

In the end, in all cases, I suspect Wilson (if he is taken at all) will get a backup job, so as it relates to fantasy, he should not be someone you are looking at unless you are really stacked, sitting high atop in first place, and you're looking to have some fun with a gamble.

I imagine that the Astros would have a chance of shoring up a decent middle infielder for Wilson, but probably nothing more.

-Rob