The MLB trade deadline has passed and the Houston Astros are one of the biggest headliners in the aftermath. The Astros weren’t able to add to their pitching staff, but they acquired utility infielder Ramón Urías from the Baltimore Orioles, left-handed hitting outfielder Jesús Sánchez from the Miami Marlins and even reunited with shortstop Carlos Correa after acquiring him from the Minnesota Twins.
WIth all three in the fold, the Astros will look to continue their postseason push. But there are some players that are spending this time on their couch including a former Astros outfielder that joined the team late last season.
Jason Heyward Still Needs a Job After MLB Trade Deadline
If you blinked, you may have missed it. But Jason Heyward came aboard for the Astros’ postseason run this time a year ago. With the Astros needing depth for the final stretch of the season, Houston signed the five-time Gold Glove Award winner and former All-Star on Aug. 29, and he hit .218/.283/.473 down the stretch.
While he brought some veteran leadership to the Astros clubhouse, he decided to try his luck somewhere else and declared for free agency after the season. While he was able to land a job with the San Diego Padres, things didn’t turn out as he had hoped, hitting .176/.223/.271 with two homers and 12 RBI in 34 games.
There were several reasons for Heyward’s downturn. A productive player that hit .269/.340/.473 with 15 homers and 40 RBI for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023, Heyward fell off a cliff in the first half of the 2024 season, hitting .208/.289/.393 with six homers and 28 RBI in 63 games before he was designated for assignment.
The modest performance with the Astros was a hope that it was just a slow start that wrecked his 2024 campaign, but at 35 years old, his body began to turn on him. Heyward battled knee inflammation in April before hurting his oblique in May. Not even a rehab assignment to Triple-A El Paso could get him in order, as he went 2-for-21 with eight strikeouts and a walk before returning to the Padres and eventually being designated for assignment on June 21 and released a few days later.
Heyward hasn’t found a job since his latest release and it’s possible he’s on his way to retirement. But his resume could entice a team that couldn’t find outfield help at the deadline to bring him in and use him in the same way the Astros did one year ago.