Astros: Revisiting the infamous Carlos Gomez trade from 2015

We take a perilous look back at the 2015 trade bringing Carlos Gomez to the Houston Astros.

Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment, but I figured since we’re reviewing a number of big trades in the history of the Houston Astros, we should look at one of the biggest of recent years — the Carlos Gomez trade. It’s a rather painful one to examine, but I proceed in my quest nonetheless.

One of the worst trades in Astros history took place in 2015, and there are a multitude of reasons for that, which we’ll get into in more detail. On July 30, in an attempt to fortify the roster for a playoff run, the Astros acquired Gomez and Mike Fiers in exchange for Josh Hader, Domingo Santana, Adrian Houser and Brett Phillips.

This trade is regrettable for just about every reason you can think of. The players they gave up could have helped the team later on, especially Hader. The players they received not only disappointed on the field but also became some of the most reviled players by Astros fans. Not a good combination.

Eventually we may have to rank the worst trades in franchise history, and this one will certainly be in the mix for the top spot. If there’s one do-over we’d like from the past couple of decades, this would probably be it.