Suddenly a Rare Commodity, Evan Gattis' Power Will Reach Its Peak in AL

Evan Gattis’ star is rising at just the right time.

This offseason has proven that as run production plummets, the stock of anyone who can consistently hit the ball with real authority is bound to rise. Age, injury history and now a limited track record have been nullified by the game’s need for offense.

Gattis fits that bill and found himself a valuable commodity in the trade market as spring training creeps to a month away. The Atlanta Braves continued their rebuild by trading yet another fan favorite, sending Gattis to the Houston Astros along with minor league reliever James Hoyt for a trio of prospects—pitchers Michael Foltynewicz and Andrew Thurman and third baseman Rio Ruiz.

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#Braves have traded Evan Gattis to the #Astros for trio of prospects, I'm told by source.

— David O'Brien (@DOBrienAJC) January 14, 2015"

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Evan Gattis now becomes the latest popular #Braves player to leave town, joining Jason Heyward and Justin Upton.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 14, 2015"

Gattis joins Justin Upton and Jason Heyward as critical pieces to the Braves’ lineup that have been dealt away, and for Gattis, the Braves were able to sell high on the 28-year-old. While he lacks a penchant for reaching base—a .304 career OBP—he can hit home runs, with43 over the last two seasons in limited plate appearances. And in this day and age, that skill set is attractive on the open market.

There was once a time when Gattis’ deficiencies would have pushed away suitors. But this winter, any semblance of offensive competency is coveted all around the league. We have seen this with aging and/or imperfect hitters like Victor Martinez, Pablo Sandoval, Hanley Ramirez and Adam LaRoche.

The Astros ignored potential injury issues with Gattis in sending away prospects, although only Ruiz was ranked in the organization’s top 10 by Baseball America.

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Heading into physical, the worry about Evan Gattis' health was centered on his right knee and back, sources say. Concern not light, either

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) January 14, 2015"

While the concerns were significant—he has had two knee surgeries and back problems—Gattis’ physical was clean enough that the improving Astros did not want to pass on the catcher/left fielder, especially with the Texas Rangers reportedly ready to pounce on him.

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The Rangers are the other club that remains in the mix for Gattis if a deal with that Astros is not completed. #Braves

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) January 14, 2015"

Gattis is likely to be Houston’s primary left fielder, but with him under team control through 2018, he has plenty of time to become the team’s designated hitter, which is pretty much written in stone. Gattis did not play left field last season, but he has been a serious defensive liability in the past. He was worth minus-10 Defensive Runs Saved in 2013 through 342.1 innings in left field.

It is still possible the Astros trade from their surplus of catchers—Jason Castro, Carlos Corporan and Hank Conger are already on the 40-man roster—to give Gattis another positional option.

But the power plays anywhere.

Gattis hit 21 home runs in his rookie season in 382 plate appearances. He pushed that total to 22 homers in 369 plate appearances last season. Those numbers flushed out over a full season of 162 games jump to 33 home runs a season. Consider that along with the fact that the Astros have the ability to keep him healthy by spotting him as DH, and the trade provides instant run production.

“We had to give up a lot to get Evan Gattis and James Hoyt, but they’re both players that figure into our plans for next year,” Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow told Houston Chronicle reporter Evan Drellich. “Evan Gattis is a premier offensive player in today’s game where offense is declining.”

John Bazemore/Associated Press

That last statement is why Gattis has value. Adding him to a lineup that already features sluggers Chris Carter and George Springer gives the Astros an intimidating trio that can each hit the ball into another stratosphere.

If Gattis can stay on the field, which is a real possibility with the DH position in the American League, he can put up cartoonish power numbers in an era of shrinking offense. All of that was part of the reason the Astros made the deal.

“He’s had some [health] issues in the past,” Luhnow told Drellich. “We feel comfortable with what we’re getting and we feel like in the American League, it’s a better environment for him [with the DH spot available].”

Less than a handful of years ago, no team would have given up a trio of prospects for a player of Gattis’ age, injury history and defensive deficiencies. However, we are in an age where pitching rules and hitting drools, so a player like Gattis carries more value now than at any time since the pitching mound was lowered in 1969.

If the Astros can figure out a way to keep him healthy and get him 600-plus plate appearances, we could see Gattis become one of the premier home run hitters in the game.

Anthony Witrado covers Major League Baseball for Bleacher Report. He spent the previous three seasons as the national baseball columnist at Sporting News, and four years before that as the Brewers beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.