Grading Astros' 2024 trade deadline moves after Dana Brown's overpay

The Houston Astros were in kind of a weird position heading into the trade deadline this year. The team is playing well and is loaded with legitimate stars, but they were also dealing with injuries to key players like Kyle Tucker and Justin Verlander and had multiple spots on the roster where upgrades were needed. As a result, it felt like the Astros needed to be aggressive on the trade market.

The deadline has officially passed now, and while Houston was certainly VERY aggressive in some respects, they also made some pretty questionable choices with their limited resources and decided to pass on some opportunities that would have made the team better. Let's take a look at their haul and how they ended up doing.

Grading the Astros' moves at the 2024 MLB trade deadline

The Astros' primary focus at the trade deadline -- and understandably so, given the slew of injuries they have suffered -- was adding an impact starting pitcher. After that, bringing in a quality first baseman was a priority, and shoring up the bullpen is something that basically every contender needs to do. Here is who they added and who they gave up.

Astros Trade Deadline Additions

• Yusei Kikuchi
• Caleb Ferguson

Astros Trade Deadline Departures

• Joey Loperfido
• Jake Bloss
• Will Wagner
• Kelly Austin
• $750,000 in international bonus pool money

Do you see the problem here? Adding Kikuchi in a vacuum is fine. He is a rental starter, but is one that has good stuff when he is on, and he should be able to help fill the void at least until veteran starter Justin Verlander returns. That should be pretty soon. Taking a flyer on Caleb Ferguson was also fine, as he was good in 2022 and 2023, and buying low on a guy you think you can fix to beef up the bullpen is a sound strategy.

The problem is what the Astros "had" to give up to make these moves happen. There is no world where a couple months of Kikuchi should have cost Houston Joey Loperfido (who also would have been a good option at first base if the Astros had bothered to try him there), Jake Bloss (who was also part of the Astros' pitching depth), and a Triple-A bat that is having a strong season in Will Wagner. Dana Brown is among the best in the business at talent evaluation and he may know something we don't about these guys, but it really feels like they could have gotten a better arm than Kikuchi by giving that much up.

Even the Ferguson trade felt a bit like an overpay. He was having a bad year with the Yankees with a 5.13 ERA and a pretty rough walk rate, and he is a pending free agent. Giving up relief prospect Kelly Austin was fine, but $750,000 in international bonus pool money is a lot of IFA pool to give up for an organization that already had questionable minor league depth before they paid up for Kikuchi.

Trade Deadline Grade: C- : This grade is honestly generous, and is giving Brown a little benefit of the doubt when it comes to the guys he traded away. Houston never gave Loperfido a proper chance to carve out a big league role, failed to landed a first baseman such as Yandy Diaz, and may have made that situation worse by dealing Loperfido. They probably only slightly improved their 2024 roster overall, if at all.

On top of all of that, they may have shortened their competitive window due to the amount of talent they gave up overall. Certainly not a banner trade deadline, but they did add a starting pitcher of note, and Ferguson isn't an uninteresting bullpen arm. Still, they should have ended up with more than they did, considering what they gave up.

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