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It's tough to pick flaws with the trade deadline approach that the Houston Astros have had in past years because more times than not, they take the right gambles. For example, last year, they took a gamble that veteran starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi would be better than he was with the Toronto Blue Jays, and they were right.
That is about the extent of the type of moves the Astros usually make in seasons of contention. For example, in 2022, the Astros steered away from making a blockbuster splash for the Cubs' All-Star catcher Willson Contreras. The Astros often don't go in search of moves that dramatically alter their roster at the deadline, and yet, that is the very thing they did this time around.
The Astros were so aggressive that they saw the unthinkable happen--Carlos Correa returned to where he belongs. The Astros didn't stop there. They already had Ramón Urías in the fold from the Baltimore Orioles, and they capped their deadline off by poaching Jesús Sánchez from the Marlins.
Astros’ 2025 deadline moves hint at lessons they won’t say out loud
Failures may be too strong a word when describing the Astros' past deadlines, but there's no question they had a level of aggression this season that they haven't had before. The Astros dramatically changed how their starting lineup looks, and that speaks to the lesson they learned.
Leave no things to chance. With Isaac Paredes possibly out for the remainder of the season, Jeremy Peña still working his way back from an injury, and no clear timeline for Yordan Álvarez, the Astros couldn't bank on the idea that getting healthy would be what they needed to turn into a World Series contender. The Astros already had the sniff of being a World Series contender, and the three moves they made removed that doubt.
There certainly are some questions about these moves as it pertains to plans after 2025, but now, this new approach has the Astros once again at the center of conversations for Major League Baseball heading into the final two months of the season.