MLB Trade Retrospective: Carlos Gomez to the Houston Astros

Gomez Continues to Struggle

The key to this deal for the Astros was supposed to be Carlos Gomez. He had been an All-Star in back-to-back seasons in 2013 and 2014, hitting a combined .284/.347/.491 with 47 homers and 74 steals. He wasn’t hitting up to those standards in the first half of 2015 but, at the age of 29, it was reasonable to expect him to get back to the player he’d been the previous two years.

Instead, he was even worse for the Astros than he’d been for the Brewers. He had already been on the Disabled List because of a hamstring injury early in the year and would miss more time with the Astros late in the year. In 41 games, he hit .242/.288/.383. He did hit a solo home run in the AL Wild Card game that pushed a 1-0 Astros’ lead to 2-0 in a game they would win 3-0. He then hit another home run in the AL Division Series, which the Astros lost to the Royals in five games.

Gomez may not have played as well as the Astros hoped he would, but Fiers was a welcome addition to the starting rotation. He started nine games with the ‘Stros and was 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA (4.39 FIP), 1.06 WHIP, and 8.5 K/9. He only pitched one inning in the post-season and gave up one earned run on one hit.

The Astros gave up four young prospects for Gomez and Fiers and had to be particularly disappointed by the play of Gomez. The trade went through on July 30, when the Astros were 58-45 and in first place by two games. They went 28-31 after the trade and dropped into second place in the AL West, but hung on for the second wild card spot.

Next: Four Young Players Go To Milwaukee