Jim Crane may have forced the Astros to make another very expensive mistake

If you are measuring the trade deadline by headlines made, the Houston Astros were clearly one of the winners. Not only did they add Jesus Sanchez, who is already showing his worth as well as Ramon Urias for some depth, but they shocked all of baseball with a deal to reunite with Carlos Correa. As nostalgic as bringing back Correa was, it could be another unforced error courtesy of owner Jim Crane.

Crane's meddling with the Astros' roster is well documented. Not only was Crane personally responsible for two of the worst contracts in franchise history in Jose Abreu and Rafael Montero, but he has consistently pushed for or against moves during his tenure in ways that have been...less than helpful.

Now, we are starting to get some details as to how the Correa trade went down, and it shouldn't be surprising that Crane was smack dab in the middle of things again.

While it was a fun trade, Jim Crane pushing to re-acquire Carlos Correa could easily backfire

According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, Crane started thinking about re-acquiring Correa and personally asked general manager Dana Brown to contact the Twins to see if they were open to a deal. Crane then went a step further to reach out to the Twins' owners, the Pohlad family, and make the case for getting Correa's contract off their books if they wanted to sell the team successfully.

Obviously, Crane and the Astros were persuasive enough to land Correa in the end, and it could work out. Correa is a difference-maker on both sides of the ball when he is on, and if he is playing well at third, his being under contract through at least 2028 could open up some intriguing roster building opportunities going forward when it comes to Isaac Paredes and/or Christian Walker.

Where potential problems exist is that this isn't prime Correa we are looking at here. Issues with his physical health cost him two megadeals when he first hit free agency, and he has dealt with injuries off and on during his time with the Twins. He has hit pretty well this year, but his production has been inconsistent, and there is little guarantee that he is going to age well in an Astros' uniform.

Yes, Houston did end up getting Correa "cheaper" than they would have had they just extended him in the first place. However, they are also getting an older, more beat-up version of Correa, who is still making enough money from the Astros to create some payroll friction going forward. In short, the Correa trade may have been a fun story and got a lot of headlines, but it also could become yet another case where Crane should have just stayed out of the front office's way.

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