Former Houston Astros First Round Pick Gets Shipped to American League Contender

One of the past Houston Astros first round picks is now with an American League contender after he was traded in an early offseason deal.

Jun 19, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics right fielder Daz Cameron (28) returns to the dugout after the the sixth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros have a busy offseason ahead with a monstrous decision needing to be made regarding the future of their superstar third baseman Alex Bregman.

Until there is a resolution on that front, they really can't do much when it comes to high-profile moves that could get them back into being considered favorites in the American League.

The Astros just saw their AL record of seven consecutive ALCS appearances get snapped in the Wild Card round against the Detroit Tigers, and with so many teams across the league having young talent starting to turn into stars, it will be difficult for them to maintain the stranglehold they've had on American League teams going forward.

One team that could be a challenger to Houston for a long time even if they re-sign Bregman is the Baltimore Orioles.

Not only do the Orioles have one of the Astros' former executives in Mike Elias leading their organization, but their arc is similar to what Houston accomplished when they did a teardown rebuild and filled up their pipeline with star talent.

Baltimore added to that early in the offseason.

According to an announcement made by their social media page, they acquired former Astros first round pick Daz Cameron from the Oakland Athletics.

Taken with the 37th overall pick in the 2015 draft, the outfielder didn't have a long tenure with Houston since he was a featured part of the package to acquire Justin Verlander at the trade deadline in 2017.

That deal turned out to be a smash hit for the Astros.

Not only did Verlander revive his career in Houston to win two Cy Young Awards and be a major part in them winning the 2022 World Series title, but none of the prospects they dealt really turned into superstars in their own right.

Cameron has had a tough go of things in his career.

He played in 73 games for the Tigers across three seasons from 2020-22, but with a slash line of .201/.266/.330 and just five homers and 27 RBI, he never quite broke through like expected.

But, he'll get an opportunity to play with a contending American League team in the Orioles if he can put together a good showing during Spring Training.