Houston Astros: Kenny Lofton one of the worst trades ever

When the Houston Astros traded Kenny Lofton to the Cleveland Indians it became a terrible trade which has still failed to age well.

Add this one to the list of “if we could turn back the time we’d do things differently” for the Houston Astros. Trading a young Kenny Lofton regardless of who the return, was one of the worst trades in franchise history.

At first glance, when you see Lofton was a 17th round draft pick, you wonder if he was all speed and no bat. Not the case. Lofton hit .331 at High-A before skipping Double-A and hitting .308 in his final year in the minor leagues.

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Were the Astros shopping him because he didn’t have power, hitting just six home runs in five minor league seasons? Yes, Kenny definitely lacked in that department, though he hit .300 and stole 168 bases during that span as well. He was a get on base, wreck havoc guy, not a home run hitter.

Nonetheless, the Astros sent Lofton packing to Cleveland where they received in return, catcher Eddie Taubensee and pitcher Willie Blair. Mistake.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good platoon catcher and bullpen arm. Not at the expense of a young speedster like Kenny Lofton though.

I don’t want to hear Lofton was blocked at the big league level by Steve Finley. Finley was a decent player in his own right, however, when he was in Houston he wasn’t the power hitter he became later in his career. Was there not room for both? Were their skill sets at the time too similar to keep each?

Taubensee played two full years with the Astros, splitting time with Scott Servais behind the plate while Blair pitched in just twenty-nine games before the Colorado Rockies took him in the expansion draft.

Lofton goes out and leads the league in stolen bases five years in a row with the Indians while hitting over .300 four of those years. He won the Rookie of the Year Award the first year after the trade, a Gold Glove the next, and an All-Star finishing fourth in the MVP balloting the year after that. Did no one within the Astros organization see this coming?

There have been some bad Houston Astros trades over the years, I put this one right up there with them.