Astros may have prepared for blockbuster move at trade deadline that never happened

Before the trade deadline, the Houston Astros were connected to some really big names. There was a lot of noise around a potential trade for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. before the Blue Jays pulled him off the market, and there were multiple bats of note that the Astros were connected to in the hours and days leading up to the deadline.

In particular, there was a growing expectation that Houston was going to trade for one of either Isaac Paredes or Yandy Diaz. Both players would have solved the Astros' short-term problem at first base while also possessing team control beyond the 2024 season.

The Paredes plan got scuttled before the trade deadline after the Cubs scooped him up, but that only hardened many observers' expectations that the Astros were going after Diaz hard. While Diaz ultimately didn't get traded at all, there is at least one hint that Houston was at least pretty close to closing a sizable trade, quite possibly for Diaz.

Brice Matthews "hug watch" may be a clue that Houston Astros just missed out at the trade deadline

One of the more entertaining pastimes during the deadline is keeping an eye out for players hugging teammates and, more importantly, prospects getting unexpectedly scratched from minor league lineups, as those can be indications of impending trades. In the case of Brice Matthews getting held out of the lineup, it would have had to have been a rather big trade to justify his departure.

The Astros picked Matthews in the first round of the 2023 draft and he has really broken on to the scene this season. In 52 games this year, he has slashed .286/.395/.510 with 11 homers and 21 stolen bases. When top 100 prospect lists come out going into next season, it is extremely likely that Matthews' name is going to feature prominently on at least some of them.

Given that Matthews was right back in the lineup the next day, it is a fair guess that Houston was holding him out to include in a trade. The Astros wouldn't have thrown Matthews in a deal for a rental (although the Kikuchi deal does give us some pause that that is actually true), so perhaps a trade for Yandy Diaz or another big name was much closer to happening than fans initially thought.

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