Joey Loperfido’s reaction to being traded by Astros was absolutely heartbreaking

Eric Cole

Colorado Rockies v Houston Astros / Logan Riely/GettyImages

It is easy to forget the human element when we look at the trade deadline. Players settle their lives around playing for one organization and, in an instant, they are asked to uproot themselves and seamlessly transition to being in an entirely new place. For former Houston Astros INF/OF Joey Loperfido, that change came as quite a shock.

Loperfido only got just called up to the big leagues this year and was drafted in 2021. However, it was clear that his time with Houston made a strong impression on him, as Loperfido's reaction to the trade that brought in Yusei Kikuchi was honestly pretty heartbreaking.

Joey Loperfido wanted to stay with Houston and the Astros may end up regretting moving him

When interviewed after the trade, Loperfido said that he "loved it here, (it) felt like home." and that it was emotional saying goodbye to his teammates and coaches that treated him so well during his time with the Astros. A classy response from a guy that, until Tuesday, looked like he was going to be a part of Houston's future.

How the Astros handled Loperfido all year long was truly perplexing. It was at least defensible that he started the year in the minor leagues, given the crowded outfield picture and Houston wanting to give Jose Abreu a chance to redeem himself. However, after Abreu was released, reopening the door with Kyle Tucker out.

Somehow, after Tucker's injury, Loperfido still had to battle for the playing time unnecessarily, then very surprisingly got thrown into a trade for a rental in Kikuchi that basically everyone thinks was an overpay.

We'll know soon enough if Houston was valuing Loperfido appropriately, as he is going to get an opportunity in Toronto to contribute regularly. Unfortunately for Astros fans, the odds are pretty good that he is going to make the team regret giving up on him so soon.

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Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.