The Houston Astros trade deadline featured some positives and negatives. The positives were clear: they added two solid pieces in Jesús Sánchez and Ramón Urias along with bringing home a franchise icon in their treade with the Minnesota Twins for infielder Carlos Correa.
But, according to a new report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required), there’s a chance the Astros’ trade deadline could have looked a lot different had Ryan O’Hearn gone where he was expecting to go. O'Hearn revealed he was hoping to return to his home state of Texas.
Astros deadline might've looked a lot different if this Orioles' slugger Ryan O'Hearn got his wish
“O’Hearn thought he would be traded to one of four teams — Boston, Milwaukee, Texas or Houston," Rosenthal wrote. "He actually asked Orioles GM Mike Elias if he could be sent to one of the Texas teams so he could be closer to his home in Dallas, but knew his request carried only so much weight."
Instead, he ended up needing to fly across the country to join the San Diego Padres. O’Hearn was one of the top position players available at the deadline after he posted an .837 OPS in 94 games with the Orioles en route to his first career All-Star nod. And he’s carried that over to his time in San Diego, as he’s posted an OPS+ over 120 and continued to mash homers since joining the Padres.
The hulking left-hander has hit .277 with 14 home runs in 300 at-bats against right-handed pitching this year, which would have made him the perfect fit for an Astros team that’s combined for a 99 wRC+ against right-handed pitching this year.
Isaac Paredes was their big right-handed killer, but his season-ending injury put an obvious damper on that. Correa has also hit well against righties since re-joining the Astros, but there’s only so much he can do.
O’Hearn wouldn’t have been a perfect hit on the Astros roster due to the presence of players like Christian Walker and the impending return of Yordan Alvarez, but he also would have provided them with a profile they’re desperately missing.
