4 trade deadline moves the Astros should have made if Dana Brown wasn't asleep at the wheel

We all knew the shopping list. Dana Brown was looking for an impact left-handed bat, a starter to stabilize a rotation with one of the highest ERAs in the league, and a late-inning reliever. In the end, he got maybe one of the three, and he gave up a starter that they refused to trade for Dylan Cease last year to do it.

Look, the Daulton Varsho for Spencer Arrighetti trade with Toronto is fine in a vacuum. Varsho is a very good center fielder who instantly upgrades Houston’s outfield defense. He hasn’t been good offensively this year, but he had a 123 wRC+ just last year, so maybe he can help there. But he’s a rental making real money, and he doesn’t get on base, even when he’s hitting. To acquire him, they traded legitimate rotation depth.

Nothing else on the list got crossed off. The Astros now lead the division by a couple of games, so that both helps and hurts. This is still a flawed team that is taking advantage of a very flawed division, and Brown treated the deadline like the problems were all fixed because the standings were where he wanted them.

What Houston should have done differently at the trade deadline

Trade Bryan Abreu, specifically for Trevor Larnach

There is still some ambiguity here, but reports indicate a deal that would have sent Abreu to the Twins for Larnach was vetoed by Jim Crane. That’s not Brown’s fault, but it’s still a miss, if true. Larnach has flaws, but he’s hitting .286/.373/.459 through Monday and would have immediately been the third-best hitter in the Astros’ lineup. It also would have shed money on a pending free agent to help stay below the luxury tax. 

Brown clearly believed in the trade. So he shoulders some blame as he wasn’t able to get his owner to sign off on the deal. If he can’t close his own deal, is he even running the operation?

Boost the bullpen with either Luke Weaver or Camilo Doval

The help was sitting there in many deals. Houston’s leverage relievers do skew a bit lefty, and instead of adding a difference-maker, the only move they made was trading a previously DFA’d reliever in Nate Pearson to Kansas City. Meanwhile, teams like Pittsburgh went out and acquired Luke Weaver and Camilo Doval. That shored up exactly the late-inning need Houston had and did nothing about it.

Get a starter, any starter, but either of these two would have done

The lack of action in the rotation is where the passivity shines. The Brewers landed Dustin May (and JoJo Romero) from the Cardinals for two outfield prospects. Yes, they rated well in the Brewers’ system, but that’s a deal worth pursuing. If not May, why not Foster Griffin? The Guardians acquired the lefty for a deal the Astros assuredly could have matched. Instead, they just traded a starter and didn’t get any better.

If you’re not going to buy…selling high on Jeremy Peña would have made a lot of sense

That leaves us with Jeremy Peña, who is having an outstanding season and probably shouldn’t be traded from a contender. But there was interest, and the return probably would have been big. The Red Sox were among the interested, and they were rumored to be willing to trade Franklin Arias, their top prospect, also a shortstop. You don’t have to move him, but if you aren’t going to fortify the roster, at least fortify the future. Refusing to take the call is the wrong direction.

We all know none of this happens in a vacuum. Brown is on an expiring contract and apparently has an owner who will override him on moves as well. That’s a rough combination for a team that spent over 100 games trying to get back to first place. They’re good enough to have done that and make the postseason, but they’re not good enough to do much once they get there. Houston could have fixed that in the span of one weekend, but instead they spent the deadline with their thumb up the standing still and calling it patience.

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