Houston Astros: 3 thoughts on the team’s heist of the 2019 trade deadline

The Houston Astros stole the 2019 trade deadline by landing Zack Greinke. Here are three thoughts on how such a heist was put together as well as the impact.

With the trade deadline coming down to the wire, the Houston Astros appeared to be on the cusp of being content with what they had. But in a span of thirty minutes, the team that years ago had no chance of winning a World Series shocked the baseball world with a series of moves, including a major blockbuster deal.

Houston Astros fans — how do I start off this entry? Well, even though we’re not supposed to swear, I might as well express my thoughts.

So here you go:

HOLY @%&*

What just happened? What just happened?

I mean the whole baseball world was rocked upside down by this move. This was probably a move that no one saw coming. But now that it has happened, everyone is already putting us as a World Series favorite. This, of course, was something we always felt like all season long. Yet, our odds have magnified because we were able to make a splash while the other dominant team in the Yankees did absolutely zilch.

So how did we go from being content and possibly disappointed in the same day? Well, we might as well look back and think about the events preceding it.

Prelude

We all knew that the six biggest names entering the trade deadline were the following.

• Madison Bumgarner – A three-time World Series champion for the Giants who’s had a postseason resume unlike any other in all of baseball. He also is a folktale hero to some.
• Marcus Stroman – An American hero who pitched the United States to World Baseball Classic glory and who won $100 as a six-year-old audience member on the long-running Nickelodeon show Figure It Out. He also was named a gold glover in 2017.
• Noah Syndergaard – A man who would fight Chris Hemsworth for the role of Thor. He was an All-Star in 2016 but his career is currently being bothered by injuries.
• Zack Wheeler – A teammate of Syndergaard’s who was seen as the most likely pitcher the Astros would get to be their number three or number four starter. But like his Mets’ teammate, he also dealt with injuries in the past.
• Robbie Ray – A lefty who was part of an Arizona team that had a chance to threaten the Dodgers for the NL West title. Even as an All-Star, he wasn’t able to help lead Arizona to the Fall Classic.
• Trevor “Tyler” Bauer – A pitcher best known for cutting his finger with a drone, accusing the Astros of cheating, claiming ownership of Alex Bregman only to be bitten by karma, and for making an incredibly long toss to center field in his last start in Kansas City this past Sunday.

The chances for the Astros to get any of these pitchers were there. But the problem was four of the six names were pitching for teams that were in contention for the Wild Card. Each of the teams mentioned had been dealing with a question of going for it or selling and waiting until next year.

What originally had the makings of a curious trade deadline ended up with some of the oddest events in recent history that would end up with a bang.