The Houston Astros really fell flat on their faces in the Wild Card Series this year, and honestly, they never gained enough momentum during the regular season to make contending teams even blink. Turns out, part of that struggle might be tied to a brutal three-team trade last offseason that looks like a total mess for the ‘Stros. They shipped off two high-profile prospects, Jacob Melton and Anderson Brito, in a deal with the Pirates and Rays to bring in right-hander Mike Burrows, and let’s just say, it did not go well.
Burrows’ Brutal Stint in Houston
Houston’s pitching staff was subpar, plain and simple, outside of Hunter Brown and closer Josh Hader. Yeah, Peter Lambert had a surprisingly good year, but that doesn’t make up for what happened with Burrows. The dude was demoted to Triple-A in early July after an absolute disaster outing against the Nationals, where he gave up a staggering 10 runs, 7 of them earned, on 9 hits in just 4.1 innings. Yikes.
He never made it back to the MLB roster after that. For his 18 appearances, 17 of them starts, Burrows put up an ugly 5.99 ERA. His WHIP was a bloated 1.55, and he struck out only 7.1 hitters per nine innings. Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter didn’t mince words, writing that the Astros “gave up two high-profile prospects in Jacob Melton and Anderson Brito to acquire [Mike] Burrows.” When you give up that kind of talent, you expect more than a midseason demotion and those kinds of numbers, right?
Pirates Bagged a Haul While Astros Flopped
So, while the Astros were left scratching their heads, what did the other teams get? Well, the Pittsburgh Pirates, even though they missed the postseason, walked away with a serious win from this deal. They snagged second baseman Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Magnum, and lefty reliever Mason Montgomery. Combined, those three delivered a massive 8.7 bWAR for Pittsburgh. Think about that for a second: 8.7 bWAR for the Pirates, and for the Astros, a guy who flashed “some potential” in Pittsburgh but couldn’t regain trust and got bounced to Triple-A. Any way you slice it, the trade was a complete mess for Houston.
Look, maybe Burrows eventually proves everyone wrong. Maybe he has a strong bounceback season and finds his footing. But for now, the numbers are talking, and they’re screaming that this trade was a colossal whiff for the Astros, leaving them with a glaring hole in their rotation after giving up valuable prospects. It’s a tough pill to swallow for any team, especially one trying to gain some momentum.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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