Houston Astros Look Even More Foolish After Flaherty Trade

The Houston Astros trade for Yusei Kikuchi continues to look like an overpay for Dana Brown.

May 23, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty (9) pitches in the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Comerica Park. / Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Astros accomplished their main goal of landing a pitcher who can come in and eat innings for them. Not only will Yusei Kikuchi do that, but he should also be a big help in them making the postseason and winning the division along the way.

Prices were high around Major League Baseball during the deadline. With not as many teams selling as there were expected and the National League playoff picture being as crowded as it is, sellers enjoyed massive returns in multiple deals.

However, the trade the Astros made for Kikuchi might've been the biggest out of any team in baseball. Houston moved Jake Bloss, Joey Loperfido, and Will Wagner in the deal.

When they made the trade, it looked like the Toronto Blue Jays had comfortably won the deal. Fast forward to the final day of the deadline when every deal was done, and it was obvious that the Blue Jays made out well.

It's impossible to call anything a good or bad deal until the end of the season, but, Toronto has to feel great about their return for a guy with a 4.75 ERA who'll hit free agency in 2025.

Mike Petriello of MLB.com examined the most impactful deals of the deadline and essentially criticized the Astros for the deal the Los Angeles Dodgers made for Jack Flaherty.

"Flaherty immediately becomes not only a top-three Dodgers starter but also provides added insurance for the risk of Tyler Glasnow and Gavin Stone pitching well beyond any previous limits, and of the possibility Yoshinobu Yamamoto doesn’t make it back, and of the difficulty in projecting how much Clayton Kershaw has left.

"All that for a prospect return that seems much, much less than Houston had to surrender for Yusei Kikuchi."

Flaherty, the better pitcher than Kikuchi, was a name that was reportedly on Houston's board over the past few weeks.

The Dodgers, in a similar position in terms of injuries to their starting pitching, didn't get hurt by teams around baseball understanding their situation. The Kikuchi deal feels like one where other teams had the Astros in a chokehold.

They understood that they needed starting pitching, and because of that, they'd either have to be willing to overpay or they'd be leaving the deadline without a pitcher.

As a result, they overpaid. Perhaps it'll work in their favor, as it has many times before, but it was an interesting trade, to say the least.