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No team can guess exactly how good every player is going to be when making moves during their window of contention. Some guys are bet on and they don't work out and others get moved to turn into quality big leaguers or better with their new teams. However, the Houston Astros have been better than most organizations at picking and choosing the right guys to stay and go.
On the additions side, you have a guy in Yordan Alvarez who went from a raw prospect in the Dodgers' minor league system to one of the best hitters in baseball with Houston. As for departures, the Astros could have broken the bank to keep Carlos Correa and/or George Springer, but they would be dealing with some headaches right now if they had and probably would be lesser for it.
However, that reputation is being put to the test this year as not only is Alex Bregman showing out in Boston, but former Astros prospect Wilyer Abreu is off to a scorching start to 2025 as well after being shipped out in a rather forgettable trade.
Astros losses are the Red Sox's gains early in 2025 with Alex Bregman and Wilyer Abreu
Losing Bregman is defensible here. This isn't a situation where Houston completely gave up on the guy and refused to make much of an offer to him. The Astros had a substantial offer out to keep him, Bregman wanted a higher AAV, and the two sides just couldn't come to terms last offseason. It stinks that Bregman ultimately signed in Boston, but it is what it is.
Unfortunately, sending Abreu out of town is less forgivable. Included in the Christian Vazquez trade, Abreu was ranked in the 20's in Houston's farm system at the time of the move. It took him a bit to figure things out and limit the swing and miss, he had a very solid year in 2024 thanks to his defensive excellence. This year, he looks unstoppable with an otherworldly .483/.595/.897 line through his first 10 games of the season. The Astros got three very solid months of Vasquez in return, but this one still hurts.
With just a pair of decisions, the Astros not only lost a lot of talent from their organization, but that talent was scooped up by a chief competitor in the American League. It is funny how things work out sometimes, although the Astros probably aren't laughing about these two with the benefit of hindsight very much.