The Houston Astros surprised many observers by not making a big impact move at the trade deadline, and the team has lost seven of nine games since. According to outfielder Josh Reddick, those two factors may be related.
Reddick told SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio on Thursday that Houston players had expected the team to be aggressive at the deadline, but they were left deflated after the team’s only move was to bring in Francisco Liriano in what was viewed as a minor deal.
“I think deep down everybody in that clubhouse knew we were going to make some moves to make us a really great team to a team that put us over the edge, especially with all the moves you see moving around the league,” Reddick said, via Craig Calcaterra of HardballTalk. “It’s nothing against our guys, we are a great team, but any time you can make your team better you feel like should have the opportunity to do that and take full advantage. I think deep down, we all were, I don’t know if you want to say disappointed or upset, I guess we were just kind of down in the dumps because we feel like we had a pretty good shot at getting somebody to help this team get over that hump to where we needed to be.”
Ace pitcher Dallas Keuchel had made similar comments on Aug. 1, saying “disappointment is a little bit of an understatement” regarding the lack of a big move.
To be clear, the Astros still have the best record in the American League and are second only to the Los Angeles Dodgers in all of baseball. That, however, is the exact reason Houston players were counting on the front office to really go for it and make an aggressive move, and being linked to most of the biggest available names only raised expectations in the days leading up to the deadline. It has to be said, though, that it may not say anything good about the team’s mentality if they are so negatively impacted by the team’s lack of deals.
