The Houston Astros were at the center of two of the most major storylines from the trade market this offseason.
After shipping off Kyle Tucker in a blockbuster trade with the Chicago Cubs, the Astros looked to be on the verge of acquiring legendary third baseman Nolan Arenado from the St. Louis Cardinals. The 10-time Gold Glove winner was not going to replace Tucker, but he was an ideal solution for the impending departure of Alex Bregman.
When the deal to bring Arenado to Houston was effectively stopped at the goal line by Arenado himself and the exercising of his no-trade clause. It made sense from the player perspective as the veteran wants to win a championship at this stage of his career and the Tucker trade made it look like a rebuild was coming.
Despite that, the Astros have made moves since which indicate there still is an urgency to compete for titles. The window was missed however and even with rumors of talks re-opening, things at this juncture between Houston and Arenado are effectively dead.
Astros manager Joe Espada was asked about the heated negotiations during a Wednesday appearance on Foul Territory and he surprisingly revealed there was not any attempted convincing of Arenado to change his mind from his end.
“I never talked to him,” Espada said. “I try to stay away from any of those conversations…when the name came up I expressed [to GM Dana Brown] how good of a player he is and how much he would fit in our clubhouse, but I left it at that…I try to stay away from those conversations and focus on getting the boys ready to play.”
The fact Espada pretty much openly states that he wanted Arenado on the team is noteworthy in itself, but it also gives a window into the way Houston conducts business.
Espada’s job is to coach the players who are on the team, and though he looked close to being just that, Arenado never was and seemingly never will be on the team.
In the end, the Astros have what they have in terms of a roster. On paper, Isaac Paredes should be a tremendous fit in the infield and while it would have been nice to have one of the best third baseman of his generation on the team, Arenado’s contract is a borderline liability with his play starting to decline.
Espada and Brown seem to have a strong working relationship, something which will have to continue if Houston is going to get back to staking their claim as the team to beat in the American League and competing for titles even following the roster shakeup of this winter.