SIMULATION: Astros trading Josh Reddick proves to be difficult

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HOUSTON, TEXAS – OCTOBER 22: Josh Reddick #22 of the Houston Astros reacts to his fly out against the Washington Nationals during the second inning in Game One of the 2019 World Series at Minute Maid Park on October 22, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

The Difficulties

I reached out to a number of teams who had a need for a corner outfielder in an attempt to unload Reddick’s salary. What I quickly realized was I was getting the same answer from every one of them: “Thanks but no thanks.”

The Astros fans who don’t want to see Reddick traded are all making the same mistake — they’re overvaluing him. Yes, he is a strong defensive outfielder, and that does count for something. But he’s also been mediocre at the plate the past two seasons and will turn 33 in February.

His offensive numbers leave most teams to view him as a platoon player or fourth outfielder. With many other options available in free agency and the trade market, teams just aren’t interested in paying $13 million for a guy like Reddick when they can get someone else for cheaper. Maybe Jeff Luhnow will have better luck, but my attempts to unload his salary were fruitless.

With that being the case, I still needed to trade him simply because he’s a superfluous player. There were two remaining options; one would be to eat a portion of his salary if another team would take on the rest. The other would be to trade him for another bad contract.

In truth, I leaned toward acquiring another bad contract. Shedding only part of Reddick’s salary wouldn’t give me that much extra payroll room and might not really be worth it. By swapping bad contracts, perhaps I could at least turn that money into a more useful player. This is where I found the success I was looking for.