When the Philadelphia Phillies traded closer Ken Giles to Houston Astros this off-season, it appeared to be a trade that benefited both teams.
The rebuilding Phillies moved their elite closer, who was a luxury on a bad team, for a package of talented young pitchers that included Vince Velasquez and Mark Appel. The Astros, who were a few innings away from eliminating the eventual World Champion Kansas City Royals in 2015, landed an elite closer, giving them more stability at the back-end of their bullpen.
Following this afternoon's Spring Training loss to his former team, Giles spoke to members of the Philadelphia media, including MLB.com's Todd Zolecki, and echoed the sentiments of most on the trade.
"I think it's great," Giles said about being the key piece in a seven-player trade. "I didn't think I was that valuable to begin with because I'm just a reliever. Nobody thinks a reliever is that valuable. The market's changed for a reliever. I feel humbled that they thought of me as that valuable, and hopefully both teams get the best benefit."
For someone like Giles, who wears his emotions on his sleeve, to have this takeaway on the trade is encouraging. He's a smart player, and even though he was one of the pieces traded away, it's clear that he looked at what the Phillies were doing in trading him and respected the plan the organization is following.
While the Phillies are still figuring out who their closer will be to open the 2016 season, Giles is struggling to settle in with his new team. This spring, Giles has a 10.80 ERA in five games, including allowing two runs in his inning of work today.
Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) is the Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com, focusing on news and features.
