Fansided

Astros: 3 trade deadline moves Houston is lucky they didn’t make

By Noah Yingling

ATLANTA, GA - AUGUST 21: Jose Urquidy #65 of the Houston Astros pitches against the Atlanta Braves in the second inning at Truist Park on August 21, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Brett Davis/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - AUGUST 21: Jose Urquidy #65 of the Houston Astros pitches against the Atlanta Braves in the second inning at Truist Park on August 21, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Brett Davis/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
Josh Bell, Astros
WASHINGTON, MD – AUGUST 12: Josh Bell #24 of the San Diego Padres looks on after a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on August 12, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

The Houston Astros did well at the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline by not making these trades.

The Houston Astros are, far and away, the best team in the American League. They have done nearly everything right in recent years. Drafting, free agent signings, extensions, and trades all have gone really well. It all has culminated in the club reaching the ALCS in each of the last five seasons.

Their trade deadline acquisitions thus far have worked out fairly well, but before the trade deadline, they were interested in a few other players. Fortunately for the Astros, they did not trade for them, as many of them have struggled in the last few weeks since the trade deadline.

Here are three trade deadline moves the Astros are lucky they didn’t make.

Houston Astros: 3 trade deadline moves they are lucky they didn’t make

1) Trading for Josh Bell

At first base this year, the Astros have surprisingly struggled. Yuli Gurriel won the American League batting title last year with a .321 batting average, but this year, he has not been good. Entering Wednesday, he had played in 112 games and he was hitting .248/.297/.380 with an OPS+ of 93.

Josh Bell was with the Nationals and became the Astros’ No. 1 option for addressing first base (and the DH spot with Yordan Álvarez on the IL at the time), according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. There was good reason for this, too. When the Nationals had Bell, he should have been an All-Star. He was hitting .301/.384/.493 with 14 home runs, 57 RBI, 24 doubles, and an OPS+ of 152 in 103 games before they traded him to the Padres with Juan Soto.

With the Padres, he has played in 19 games and he has hit .132/.263/.250 with an OPS+ of 50, making him one of the most disappointing players traded at the deadline thus far.

Home/Houston Astros