The Houston Astros were expected to be big players at the trade deadline. Much to everyone’s disappointment, including their own players, they didn’t do much.
The Houston Astros pretty much did nothing at the trade deadline. The only move they made was adding LHP Francisco Liriano from the Toronto Blue Jays. The Astros were expected to be quite active during the deadline, considering most of their rotation has spent significant time on the disabled list and many of the other American League playoff challengers improved their own teams.
The Houston Astros had a 16-game lead in the American League West division at the deadline so making a move wasn’t exactly necessary for them to secure a playoff spot. However, many thought that they could improve the team to help improve their odds of winning their first World Series title. Since the deadline, the Astros have struggled yet they still maintain a 13-game lead. They’re going to win their division without a doubt, but with how crazy playoffs often are, they aren’t guaranteed a title.
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Many thought that the Houston Astros would add a top-of-the-line starter to their rotation. Justin Verlander, Sonny Gray, and Yu Darvish were all available at the deadline and could have bolstered their rotation and increased their chances of winning games early in a series. Instead, the Astros added Liriano as a reliever and possible spot starter and that disappointed many. The disappointment apparently spread to the team according to Astros’ outfielder Josh Reddick.
On MLB Network Radio Reddick had the following to say about the Houston Astros front office’s lack of moves:
"“I think deep down everybody in that clubhouse knew we were going to make some moves to make us a really great team to a team that put us over the edge, especially with all the moves you see moving around the league. It’s nothing against our guys, we are a great team, but any time you can make your team better you feel like should have the opportunity to do that and take full advantage. I think deep down, we all were, I don’t know if you want to say disappointed or upset, I guess we were just kind of down in the dumps because we feel like we had a pretty good shot at getting somebody to help this team get over that hump to where we needed to be.”"
It’s the middle of August and the Houston Astros still could make a trade. The Detroit Tigers placed Justin Verlander on waivers and he has since cleared, but the rumored price for him is steep either in taking on his salary or in terms of prospects. However, if a team’s own players believe the team needs to add someone, then what does that really say about their confidence heading into October?
Reddick has experience with the trade deadline considering he was part of a big deadline deal last year. The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired him and Rich Hill from the Oakland Athletics for their playoff push. Hill didn’t step onto the mound for the Dodgers until three weeks after the deal due to blister issues and Reddick experienced the biggest offensive slump of his career. Both serve as an example as to how deadline deals don’t always guarantee success.
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The Houston Astros are one of the best teams in all of baseball and will be a top seed in the American League playoffs. However, they do have quite a bit of young talent on their MLB roster as well as in their farm system so they shouldn’t be scared of making a deal if it improves their World Series chances. They also don’t want to sacrifice significant future pieces to slightly upgrade their already strong roster.