Grading Each Move the Astros Made at the Deadline

Assigning a letter grade to each trade that the Houston Astros made at the 2022 trade deadline.

The 2022 MLB trade deadline has now officially come and gone after weeks of anticipation. The Houston Astros didn’t make a trade on deadline day itself, getting all their business done the day before instead. During the 48-hour flurry of moves that was the 2022 trade season, they made 3 deals, acquiring 3 players for their MLB roster and 1 prospect while trading away 2 major leaguers as well as an additional 3 prospects. All the prospects they traded were in the top 30 in their system according to MLB.com.

Going into the deadline, the Astros’ most pressing needs were at first base and catcher. While they did not acquire the marquee name at first base in Josh Bell, who went to the Padres in the Juan Soto deal, they did manage to trade for the best catcher that ended up getting moved in Christian Vazquez. They also acquired a left-handed pitcher for their bullpen (which previously featured all righties) in Will Smith. Despite the lack of trades on the actual deadline day, GM James Click hinted at the fact that they had conversations about plenty more players they didn’t end up acquiring.

A common theme that made the deadline somewhat underwhelming for plenty of fans was the fact that the price for trade candidates on selling teams seemed to be at an all-time high. The Cubs’ Willson Contreras and Ian Happ ended up not being traded. Neither did San Francisco’s Joc Pederson and Carlos Rodon. Detroit opted to keep key relievers, Andrew Chafin and Gregory Soto. That left many buyers with a smaller haul of players than they would have liked; the Mets and Blue Jays being the most prominent.

That said, the Astros still addressed most of their needs, and GM Click was able to personally address the media after the 5:00 PM (CST) deadline had passed. On the following slides, you’ll find letter grades on each trade the Astros made at the deadline, and details about each one that you may have forgotten.