Astros Trade Lane; New GM Wade Officially A Genius

The Astros traded albatross-esque outfielder Jason Lane to the San Diego Padres yesterday for a player to be named later or cash. This was the first transaction by Ed Wade since he took over as the Astros general manager last week. Given the struggles that Lane has had over the past couple of seasons, and the fact that his trade value was estimated at somewhere similar to that of Cubs World Series tickets, that Wade was able to get anything in exchange for Lane is a minor miracle.

According to Astros.com, discussions between Wade and Padres GM Kevin Towers took less than an hour. The Padres were looking to bolster their outfield after starting RF Milton Bradley tore his ACL when one of his coaches pushed him to the ground to prevent him from arguing a call at first base. (really)

Houstonist.com has obtained an exclusive transcript of their conversation:

Wade: So I was looking for some staples in this closet here, and I found Jason Lane. You want him?

Towers: Sure, I've never read a player evaluation before. He hit 20 homers a couple years ago, right?

Wade: (grows mustache, twirls it) Absolutely. Would you be willing to part with that large burlap bag with a dollar sign on it?

Towers: Works for me, all this money was making my office stuffy. Deal!

Wade: Excelsior!

In all fairness, Lane will probably benefit from the change of scenery. Hell, who wouldn't benefit from a change of scenery when the destination is San Diego? This does signal that Wade will not hold the lenient attitude that previous GM Tim Purpura had toward in-house developed players, and will remake the team in his image. Good luck to him; it'll take a lot to make the Astros competitive in 2008, but trading Lane is a step in the right direction.