4 signings that torpedoed the Astros offseason trade ambitions

The Houston Astros have a number of players on their roster who they've been dangling for some time. While some players, like Christian Walker, are hard sells, others, like Jake Meyers, had a lengthy list of suitors at one point in time.

Right now, Isaac Paredes is the most in-demand Astros' trade candidate, but with spring training getting underway, the market for him has tempered, too. Houston has various motivations for dangling this handful of players. Cost savings are key as crossing the luxury tax line is Jim Crane's no-go zone. Clearing the infield logjam is another crucial motivation. Finally, at least in Meyers' case, the prospect of capitalizing on an asset whose value might be about to tank is just too much to pass up.

With that said, at various points, the teams that had been linked to these Astros' trade chips made decisions that pivoted in other directions. In at least four specific cases, these clubs decided that spending money on the open market for a different player would be a better investment than parting with actual talent to procure one of these Astros.

These 4 free agent deals derailed the Astros' trade hopes this offseason

Tampa Bay Rays signing Cedric Mullins for one year, $7 million

The Rays were one of the early Meyers suitors, but instead quickly decided that a better use of their resources would be signing a declining player, Cedric Mullins, for nearly twice what Meyers is making this year. That deal came together in early December, so perhaps the Astros weren't ready to move on then. Or maybe the asking price was too high. Meyers certainly feels like a Rays kind of player, but Tampa apparently felt differently.

Unrelated, but the Astros would later ensure that the Rays didn't come back around for Meyers by giving them Jacob Melton in the Mike Burrows three-way trade. If Mullins didn't take them out of the running for Meyers, acquiring Melton certainly did.

New York Mets signing Jorge Polanco for two years, $40 million

The Mets were often thought of as a potential Christian Walker destination, especially once Pete Alonso's deal with the Baltimore Orioles became official. There were various iterations that could have worked, including a bad-contract-for-bad-contract swap, with either Kodai Senga or Sean Manaea finding their way to Houston in exchange for Walker.

The Jorge Polanco signing mostly closed that door. New York signed him ostensibly to play first base, a position at which he has just one major league game to his credit. Even after the fact, there was a chance they could consider moving Polanco to DH and sliding Walker in at first, but their subsequent moves have made that pretty much a non-starter.

Kansas City Royals sign Lane Thomas to a one-year, $5.25 million deal (plus $1 million in incentives)

Another potential Meyers suitor, the Royals were looking for outfield help and were thought to be in the conversation for Meyers. The Astros center fielder ended up making just $3.55 million in arbitration, which should have been attractive for the small-market Royals, but instead they'd spend more on bounce-back candidate Lane Thomas. Again, this seems to be a case where the opposing club decided that spending a little more cash on an inferior option was better than ponying up in a trade for Meyers.

Pittsburgh Pirates sign Marcell Ozuna for one year, $12 million

This one is technically still alive. The Pirates have been interested in dealing for Isaac Paredes, and the hot corner is a particularly sore spot on their roster. The addition of Marcell Ozuna has no bearing on Paredes' potential fit with Pittsburgh, as the 35-year-old is a full-time DH these days. Instead, the hang-up becomes whether or not the Pirates could absorb Paredes' $9.35 million salary after giving $12 million to Ozuna. Pittsburgh has been more freewheeling in its spending this winter, but it has to be close to its limit.

That might mean a potential deal would hinge on them shipping back salary for Houston to take on, which kind of defeats the purpose for the Astros. The fire isn't out completely in these trade talks, but it is down to its embers and unlikely to reignite without some other development.