Hunter Pence Officially A Phillie, Phils Get Their Man!

After weeks upon weeks of speculation and debate, Hunter Pence is officially a Philadelphia Phillie. Today the Phils will trade Jared Cosart, Johnathan Singleton, and two prospects to be named later to the Astros in exchange for the right handed bat that the Phils have been desperately searching for.

A career .290 hitter, Pence also brings a little pop to the Phils as he has hit 25 HR and 70 plus RBI's the last 3 years. Currently Pence is hitting .309 with 11 HR and 61 RBI's and will look to continue his plus .300 hitting for the Phils. Defensively Pence has an "awkward" throw but can still cover a ton of ground out in right field. The two time All-Star is much more polished than Domonic Brown and should give the Phils a better defensive presence.

The only downside to Pence is that he is a bit of a free swinger and doesn't have much patience at the plate. His career high in walks is 58 and he only has 29 walks so far in 2011. But I think that he will learn to become more patient on a veteran team like the Phillies, and in my mind he can be as aggressive as he wants if he stays around the .300 mark.

The Phils gave up two great prospects in Jarred Cosart and Jonathan Singleton to acquire Pence. But clearly the Phils front office is in win now mode and they are willing to do what ever it takes to bring this city another World Series title. The two other prospects the Phils surrendered are not major.

The big thing in this deal is that the Phils didn't give up Domonic Brown or Vance Worley. They did give a lot up, but they also managed to hold onto two guys in Brown and Worley who have very bright futures.

Stay updated to the blog as we will have more on this trade later.