The 2026 MLB trade deadline has come and gone, and barring some minor league callups, this is essentially the team the Houston Astros will be going to battle with the rest of the season.
Houston had clear deficiencies coming to the deadline. Their outfield OPS is the worst in baseball. Their starting pitchers’ ERA was the highest in the league. Their bullpen has been heavily taxed and three of their 4 leverage reliever are lefties. The one righty, Bryan Abreu, has had an inconsistent season.
The Astros
had stated clear agendas for the trade deadline: a left-handed hitting outfielder who could impact the lineup, a starting pitcher who could stabilize the rotation, and a right handed reliever who could handle some leverage innings.
Dana Brown achieved none of his goals today.
The Astros traded SP Spencer Arrighetti to the Toronto Blue Jays for CF Daulton Varsho.
Varsho is a very good defensive player and former Gold Glove winner in 2024. He is also a below average offensive player with a career batting average under .230 and career OBP under .300. He does have some pop, but he has also played in two of the best hitters parks in baseball in Chase Field (AZ) and Rogers Centre (TOR).
Varsho is a free agent at the end of the season.
He gives the Astros an excellent defensive CF with moderate pop, albeit with a low average, low OBP and high strikeouts.
Spencer Arrighetti had clearly fallen out of favor in Houston, mainly due to his poor command. Arrighetti is walking 5.1 batters per nine this season, identical to his walk rate a year ago. That is an unsustainable rate. It would be one thing if Arrighetti was 23 coming out of Double-A, but he’s 26. His command hasn’t improved.
He also doesn’t throw particularly hard (93), and in his career, he’s essentially had 2 great months and the rest of his time in MLB he has been lousy. He has a career 4.66 ERA and 1.39 WHIP. Those are not the numbers of a good pitcher, not even those of a promising pitcher.
The returns of Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski bounced Arrighetti from the rotation, even if he weren’t currently on IL with nerve irritation in his foot. Arrighetti’s injury history has to be taken into account as well.
In the end, they traded a player that they didn’t have a role for to get player who will be their starting everyday CF.
Overall, I would give that specific deal a B-. It didn’t address any of their clear needs, but it was an upgrade without losing anyone who would help the team this year or really in future years.
Overall Deadline Grade
For the deadline overall, to achieve none of their stated agenda and fill none of their needs, I give them a F. They had an opportunity to improve the team and really separate themselves from the AL West, make themselves into solid contenders in the AL, and they completely whiffed.
Staying under the luxury tax seemed to be more important than winning. In a year when the AL is wide open, and several AL contenders made big improvements, the Astros failed to move the needle for their team at a time when the team is playing the best it has in a full calendar year. It’s a colossal miss and one that likely will result in the team having a new GM next season.
The Houston Astros are listed at +115 to win the AL West division and +3000 to win the World Series on the FanDuel Sportsbook. sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/mlb
