Houston Astros bracing for the loss of Marwin Gonzalez
The most recent trade by the Houston Astros could signal a change in philosophy towards one of their most coveted free agents-to-be.
Early Saturday morning, the Houston Astros swung a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays that would bring them shortstop Aledmys Diaz in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Trent Thornton. A swift one-for-one swap, it is just another recent trade that’s gone down between these two teams.
At the surface, it doesn’t seem like much. Diaz, a semi-veteran who slashed a pedestrian .263/.303/.453 in 2018 with 18 home runs in 130 games, has another four years of control under his belt, and while he may not be the most attractive asset to teams in the market for a shortstop, is reliable and comes quite cheap.
Thornton, the pitcher heading to Toronto, is an intriguing case. The number 27 prospect in the Stros organization, per MLB Pipeline, he’s had trouble keeping the ball in the strike zone, as evidenced by his career 1.255 WHIP in 88 career MiLB games.
The goals here were simple. For the Blue Jays, it was a chance to progress in the de-cluttering of their middle infield glut, while the Astros picked up a decently noteworthy depth piece without having to give up much.
But really, the effect of this trade goes far beyond the actual pieces involved. It appears as though the Astros, receiving Diaz to shore up their infield, are effectively preparing themselves for the fact that they won’t be able to re-sign super-utilityman Marwin Gonzalez this offseason.
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Gonzalez, 29, slashed .247/.324/.409 this season with Houston, appearing in 145 games at three different positions. Prior to this year, he also logged innings at every infield position except catcher, also adding some outfield and DH time to his game totals in 2016 and 2017.
Represented by Scott Boras, a notoriously difficult agent to deal with, Gonzalez and his camp are likely going to want a massive, multi-year contract that should surpass what the Astros front office is willing to pay. While he was undoubtedly versatile and valuable for them over the past couple seasons, his slash line left a lot to be desired, with Devan Fink of Beyond the Box Score observantly pointing out that Diaz and Gonzalez were actually strikingly similar in terms of statistics in 2018.
MLB Trade Rumors, who routinely put together a list of free agent predictions, had Gonzalez signing a four-year, $36 million contract with the Minnesota Twins. While this predictive list is by no means the ultimate yardstick, it’s a good indication as to how things will shake out. Even if Gonzalez only gets a three year deal, it’s tough to imagine the Astros agreeing.
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Regardless, it’ll surely be interesting to see how the Marwin Gonzalez-HoustonAstros saga resolves itself. Many insiders, including those who have pondered the situation with much care, are predicting Gonzalez to sign elsewhere. If that’s the case, Houston might’ve done well by acquiring Diaz for a modest price.