@EasyAce
As far as Zach Britton went, I understand there was a deal in the works last year that the Orioles blew up at the last minute, which left a bad taste in mouth of the Astro's organization.
I think there was a bit of once-bitten-twice-shy sensation from the Astros this year, leery about trying it again.
One comment I heard was that they were not interested in trading with someone who was going to treat them the way the Orioles did.
Another comment was made that they were not going to go out of their way to "help" the Orioles after the debacle.
@GrouchoTex I'd heard that about a Britton deal last year. The word was that the Astros were actually willing to cough up Dallas Keuchel in a trade for Britton, but that the Orioles' front office wanted more in the way of prospects coming back as well than the Astros were willing to give up to get him.
The Sporting News and others reported then that the Astros put too many prospects on the no-touch list for several teams' tastes including the Orioles. That publication also said this at the time the deal was killed:
(W)hen the Astros thought they had a deal for Britton only to get it nixed after medicals were exchanged it begs the questions: If the Astros were trying to deal players with medical questions were they simply trying to pawn off players in an effort to outsmart their trade partners? Does that really qualify as trying to get a deal done?
Owner Jim Crane certainly wasn't happy about deals not getting done and one in particular that got nixed.
"We had a couple of other deals on the plate," he told ESPN 97.5 Radio in Houston. "They were agreed on in principle. Then medicals were exchanged and they got vetoed at the top."
The problem, though, is that multiple sources have said the deal for Britton with the Orioles never got to the top. This could have been in reference to another trade. So why again would Houston, knowing the Orioles were willing to trade Britton, not offer a good enough deal to get it brought to the owner of the team? Partial translation: this was one botched deal you couldn't lay at the feet of Orioles owner Peter Angelos. Angelos is nobody's idea of a genius, of course, but this is one you can't enter onto his yellow sheet.
That was last year. This year, when the final full week of July began, it looked like the Astros and the Yankees were running neck-and-neck for Britton. As with last year, Keuchel was in the mix in those talks, with the thought being that the Astros could move Collin McHugh back to the starting rotation since he's been a kind of lost boy in the bullpen. There were a lot of reports in the sporting press saying, too, that the Astros were one of six teams "going all-in" on landing Britton this time around, which meant Britton's price went further up, which meant the Orioles were looking once again for a prospects return in a deal, just as they got when they dealt Manny Machado to the Dodgers. They didn't necessarily want to deal Britton within their division (the Red Sox were also thought to be in the Britton mix; if the Orioles also had thoughts of moving Britton out of the American League entirely, the Cubs showed big interest in him, too) if they could help it, but the right package of prospects would be the clincher.
The Astros still have the prospects to spare. They did as that last full week in July began. They needed Britton more than the Yankees did, whether or not Dallas Keuchel was going to be a factor in a deal this time around. (The Orioles hitting the reset button all the way might still have made Keuchel attractive to them as a rotation anchor and veteran mentor for younger pitching.) The Yankee pen, I say again, was
already one of the three deadliest in the American League. They needed Britton about as much as Superman needs cortisone shots. The sole reason, really, for the Yankees to be interested in Britton would have been to keep him away from the Red Sox, a division rival, or the Astros, a likely postseason rival. The only thing to speculate now is that, once again, for who knows what reasons, the Astros weren't willing to part with any prospects despite having them to burn deep. The Yankees likewise have had prospects to spare, deep, and
they weren't afraid to deal three of them to get Britton, even if the only thing Britton really did for them on his rental (he's a free agent after the season) is give them a little insurance against the Red Sox, even if the Red Sox right now look like the real beasts in the AL East.
Were there other solid relief options the Astros could have pursued?
Yes. They could have gone for Brad Ziegler or Jake Diekman, both of whom ended up with the Diamondbacks. They could have gone for Brandon Kintzler if the Nats were that willing to get rid of what they suspected was a clubhouse whistleblower instead of letting the Nats deal him to the Cubs. They could have gotten Zach Duke from the Twins instead of watch him go to Seattle. They could have gotten another Oriole, Brad Brach---who stepped up to the closer role last year with Britton injured and bagged eleven saves this year before Britton returned, instead of watching the Braves pick him up in a deal.
There was
nothing compelling them to settle for Roberto Osuna. Not even the Ken Giles factor. (They could have prodded another trading partner to take Giles as part of the deal on the change-of-scenery line.)
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