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The Houston Astros had quite the successful trade deadline. Though the Astros fell short in their pursuit of Dylan Cease, Houston addressed numerous holes in its lineup with the additions of Jesús Sanchez and Carlos Correa. The Astros also lengthened their bench by trading for Baltimore Orioles utility infielder Ramon Urias.
But after reuniting with Correa, rumors are beginning to swirl of Houston's interest in another reunion. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Astros had interest in trading for former ace Justin Verlander, but ultimately passed on the idea. Nightengale also mentioned that Houston is may be willing to pick up former closer Ryan Pressly following his recent release from the Cubs following the flurry of moves at this year's deadline.
Neither Verlander nor Pressly fit what Houston should be looking for at this point in the season. Thankfully Verlander is still out on the West Coast pitching for the San Francisco Giants.
Astros flirting with two failed reunions after trading for Carlos Correa at the MLB trade deadline
Though he was floated as a potential trade candidate at the deadline, Veralander is a disappointing 1-8 this season with San Fran and has a 4.53 ERA. There was a reason Houston allowed the future Hall of Famer to enter free agency last offseason, and bringing him back would've been a mistake.
With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, the only way Houston could reunite with Verlander would be if he were released by the Giants. That, of course, is the exact situation that Pressly is now in after being let go by Chicago just a few days ago.
But the version of Pressly who was released by the Cubs is not the same one that most Astros fans remember. Houston's longtime closer and postseason hero is a shell of his former self. In 44 appearances for the Cubs this season, the right-hander owns a 4.35 ERA and 5.02 FIP to go along with a 15.4% strikeout rate -0.4 fWAR.
Reuniting with Correa made sense and helped to fill the void left left by the injury to Isaac Paredes. Nevertheless, chasing down veterans like who are past their prime like Verlander and Pressly is a "break glass in case of emergency" situation, not one that Houston's front office should be actively pursuing.