Jayson Stark's new Rumblings & Grumblings column addresses the short-term future of young Brett Wallace:
The Houston Astros have been quietly poking around for a low-budget left-handed-hitting outfielder. And that's an indication they're leaning toward moving Carlos Lee to first base to give Brett Wallace a chance to go back to Triple-A and get more big-league-ready. But here's the question people are asking about that scenario: Are they prepared to move Lee back to left field when Wallace gets it all together? They'd better be because Lee has $18.5 million coming in 2011 and 2012, so he isn't particularly tradable.
So. This little nugget affects not only Wallace and Lee, but also Koby Clemens (presumably OKC's 1B1 in 2011), Brian Bogusevic, and Jack Shuck. I also like how Stark is envisioning Wallace "getting it together" sometime this season. We'll know by the Winter Meetings what LFs are out there, so the speculation can begin Friday, after the non-tender deadline.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
