Inside the Astros

Former Houston Astros Top Prospect Gets Traded to Toronto Blue Jays

One of the former Houston Astros top prospects was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Jun 16, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros center fielder Myles Straw (3) rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Texas Rangers in the fourth inning at Minute Maid Park
Jun 16, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros center fielder Myles Straw (3) rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Texas Rangers in the fourth inning at Minute Maid Park | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

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The Houston Astros would love to find another answer in their outfield.

Following their decision to trade Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs this offseason, Chas McCormick, who had the worst performance of his career last year, will step into right field to replace one of the game's best players. Jake Meyers will man center and there will be a rotation in left, especially because they are looking to utilize Yordan Alvarez in the field less.

General manager Dana Brown stated they are interested in a left-handed bat if possible.

Whether something gets done before Opening Day remains to be seen, but at least one former Astros player has found his new home.

According to Ben Nicholson-Smith and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet, the Cleveland Guardians have traded Myles Straw to the Toronto Blue Jays for $2 million in international bonus pool money.

Formerly a 12th-round pick of Houston in the 2015 draft, he slowly worked his way up the pipeline until he started being considered one of the franchise's best prospects. He first appeared in the top 30 designation by MLB Pipeline in 2018 and made his Major League debut that same year.

Straw peaked at No. 16 the following season and got into 56 MLB games.

He became a larger part of the equation in 2020 and 2021, but ahead of the trade deadline during the latter campaign, the Astros shipped him to the Guardians in exchange for Phil Maton and Yainer Diaz.

While Straw won a Gold Glove in 2022, it's hard to argue Houston didn't dominate this trade.

Maton helped them win a World Series and Diaz is the catcher of their future.

Meanwhile, Straw has been an abysmal offensive player for Cleveland with an OPS+ of 76, prompting them to send him to the minors at the beginning of this past season which resulted in him only appearing in seven MLB games at the end of the year.

Now, the former Astro will try to get his career on track up north with the Blue Jays.


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Brad Wakai
BRAD WAKAI

Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he did work at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad currently covers the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros for Sports Illustrated/FanNation. He is also the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continues to cover Penn State athletics. Brad is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, discussing topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai