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Houston Astros: Three reasons why trading for Roberto Osuna was crucial

By Brian K. Patterson

TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 17: Roberto Osuna #54 of the Toronto Blue Jays throws a pitch in the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians during game three of the American League Championship Series at Rogers Centre on October 17, 2016 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 17: Roberto Osuna #54 of the Toronto Blue Jays throws a pitch in the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians during game three of the American League Championship Series at Rogers Centre on October 17, 2016 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

Reason #3: The Bottom Line

Here’s the bottom line — Osuna continues to proclaim his innocence, he’s a damn good pitcher and he’s paid his dues.  May I add that this suspension is without pay?  Once the legal side of what he’s currently mired in is resolved  — to which I think it will or the Astros wouldn’t have dealt for him — he’ll be ready to contribute and in this case, it will be for H-Town.

His devastating, 96 mph four-seam fastball is hard to pass up along with his cutter, slider and sinker that sit somewhere in the 90s.  If things work out, I see him as pivotal weapon in the bullpen for years to come and to keep this team competitive.

I’m all about giving a guy a second chance — he should get it but I certainly don’t condone ANY

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TYPE of domestic violence — but if the Houston Astros catch wind of any additional, credible incidents involving Osuna, then the team needs to terminate his contract faster than the time it took for the Toronto police to put the cuffs on him and throw him in jail in the first place.  The Astros have proclaimed that they will execute a zero-tolerance policy with him and rightfully so.

Now the front office did console with the team before executing the move but to what extent remains unclear.  It has been reported that Jose Altuve was contacted but not guys like Carlos Correa, Justin Verlander — who was extremely outspoken when the news of Danry Vasquez‘s domestic violence incident came out back this past Spring — and counterpart Collin McHugh were not.

Verlander has already made the notion that he’s not pleased with the move the team made earlier today so it’s certainly going to be one that is going to likely cause a seismic shift in the clubhouse.  At what magnitude remains to be seen but I think Verlander should be one of the first players Osuna should reach out to and try to mend fences early.

Osuna will be addressing the team when he joins them in Los Angeles for the series against the Dodgers this weekend to which where he’ll likely be making his debut.  He’s eligible to come off suspension Aug. 5.

The Astros have paid a considerable price to get him — if not financially but emotionally — by trading away the beleaguered Giles, top prospect David Paulino and Hector Perez, who are all right-handed pitchers.

Osuna has two more years of club control and will be a free agent in 2021 when he turns 26-years-old.  Osuna would’ve made $5.3 million this season but will likely get the pro-rated portion of that salary from the Astros which would be just a bit north of $2.2 million for 2018.

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Osuna, 23, had posted a 2.93 ERA while tossing 13 strikeouts, allowing just five earned runs and no homers along with a stellar 2.06 FIP and a 1.109 WHIP.  This was through 15.1 innings pitched before starting his suspension May 8.

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