Catching Up with the Houston Astros Trade Deadline Castoffs

The Houston Astros jettisoned five players in Major League deals at the 2022 MLB trade deadline. How are those six players doing now that they're away from Houston?

Author:
Ben Silver
Publish date:
Sep 28, 2022 1:00 PM EDT

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Houston Astros

The Houston Astros were not the buyers everyone expected them to be at the trade deadline.

Yes, they acquired Trey Mancini, Christian Vázquez and Will Smith, but many had predicted them to spend on players of far greater impact, most notably Willson Contreras.

Vázquez is not Contreras, and the prospects Houston discarded to acquire the former Boston Red Sox catcher are not at the caliber of those which the Astros' would have needed to part with for Contreras.

Yet, neither were mere lottery tickets either. Both Wilyer Abreu and Enmanuel Valdez boast legitimate MLB potential, but the duo came with a catch. Abreu and Valdez must be added to a 40-man roster this winter or they are at risk of being selected in the Rule 5 draft.

The decision to send the duo to Boston was made a little bit easier for general manager James Click because he lacked a roster spot for either player.

Valdez especially advertises as a potent offensive weapon. He slashed .296/.347/.560 in nearly 200 plate appearances with Triple-A Sugar Land before the trade, leading some to speculate that Houston surrendered too much for a rental, backup catcher.

But after joining the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox, Valdez did not perform as he had down south. In 195 plate appearances, his OPS was just .731 with seven homers for 28 total on the season. Though his walk rate increased, his strikeout rate did too, to 24.6%.

Valdez needs his bat to develop. Though he has experience at every position on the diamond barring pitcher and center field, defense is not his strong suit.

On the other hand, Abreu is a well above-average defender in center field, and while his hitting has dropped off some since moving from the hot flatlands of Corpus Christi to the coastal port of Double-A Portland, he's still been well above average.

Walking at a tremendous rate, 21.4% since his move, Abreu brought value on both offense and defense. Playing every position in the outfield, his advanced eye and solid defense mean Abreu's floor is very high.

He might never be a superstar, but he'll surely make the big leagues sooner rather than later.

Jake Odorizzi was swapped straight up for Will Smith. It's not the kind of deal you will see often: a swap of a middling starter for a middling reliever. But the Atlanta Braves needed rotation depth and the Astros needed bullpen depth. Since the deal, the trade has worked swimmingly for Houston, not so for Atlanta.

Odorizzi has been bad, there's no other way to put it. He has an ERA of 5.97 and a FIP of 5.32 in eight games. He's made one quality start and it was against the bottom-of-the-league Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Astros will be happy they came out on the right side of that deal.

Leaving Houston in the Trey Mancini trade were Chayce McDermott and Jose Siri.

While McDermott excelled in his first year of pro ball in 2021, he struggled at High-A Asheville in 2022 before the trade. Soon after arriving in Baltimore's organization, he was promoted to Double-A where his struggles continued.

Through six starts, he sports a 6.08 ERA, and though his strikeout stuff is electric – he has a 12.2 K/9 – his control is erratic. McDermott has walked 20 batters in 26.2 innings and allowed seven home runs.

His ceiling is high, but early results at Double-A for the 23-year-old aren't encouraging.

Stepping in to complete the Mancini deal were the Tampa Bay Rays, who sent Jayden Murray to the Orioles and received Jose Siri in return from Houston.

Tampa Bay has been a breath of fresh air for the 26-year-old center fielder. His OPS+ has improved almost 50 points from 53 to 101, and he is slashing .248/.304/.383. He's no slugger, but with the quality of defense he plays in center field, the Ray will be happy to have that level of production.