Astros Make Big Moves

By Jim Gazzolo

Give the Astros credit, no matter how things turn out.

Whether they make a run to the World Series or fold in the heat of summer down the stretch, at least they took their shot.

That’s about all you can ask of your team: that they go down fighting.

The Astros played with the big boys Thursday and, at least for now, look like winners. 

They were one of the more active teams on baseball’s trade deadline, bringing home one of their favorite sons and adding a few other needed pieces. 

While all eyes will be on the return of Carlos Correa, who helped turn the Astros around over the last decade before signing as a free agent with Minnesota, don’t sleep on the move to bring Jesus Sanchez to town.

Sanchez is a young lefty bat who plays the corner outfield, something the Astros needed desperately. Correa, that move speaks for itself.

So, let's give owner Jim Crane and general manager Dana Brown solid A's for their work on Thursday in making the Astros much better. And give them both an A-plus for effort.

The fact that they spent the money to get Correa back and were willing to take a chance on Sanchez shows they are in this race to try and win it. They held a five-game lead in the A.L. West when the day started, so this is a team in good shape now.

As for the competition, Seattle and Texas both also got better, the Mariners much better in fact. So the Astros had to keep up and sent a message to their players that they believed in them. These moves do just that.

Could they have used a starting pitcher? Sure, everybody could, and the Astros tried by all accounts. In the end, they could not make a deal, so they didn’t fill all their needs, but they sure came close.

“Adding this caliber of a player is going to be a cost, but on our end, we felt good about what this whole thing was going to play out to be,” Brown said. “At the end of the day, we feel like this is going to be a good situation for us and the Astros.”

Correa never really left Houston when he signed with the Twins. It was the Astros with whom he became a champion, the team that drafted him No. 1 overall and brought him to the major leagues. 

That makes this story just that much better. 

“I’m very happy that I get to come back home and join the team that everything started with,” Correa said. “Also, my parents live there, and they’ll be closer to the kids now and will be able to see them every day. 

“I had some conversations with the front office in Minnesota, and we were not moving in the direction that I thought we were after the playoffs (in 2023), and they agreed with me that it was time to move me. I let them know there was only one team I would allow that to happen.”

None of these moves guarantees another World Series, or even a playoff run. They do, however, send a clear message to the players and fans that the Astros are trying to win and trying to win now. 

Not everyone can say that, just ask the Twins.

Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers sports in Southwest Louisiana. He is also the host of Poke Nation, which airs weekly on CBS-Lake Charles.