The 5 best trades in Astros history

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With the Trade Deadline only 10 days away, the Astros are expected to be active under first-year general manager Dana Brown, who spoke recently about the team’s need for a starting pitcher, as well previously saying the Astros needed a left-handed hitter and another relief pitcher. Whether the Astros can pull any deals remains to be seen, but it should be an interesting couple of weeks.

So let’s take a look back at the five best trades in Astros history, though not all of them were made in-season or at the Trade Deadline:

1. Aug. 30, 1990: Astros acquire 1B Jeff Bagwell from the Red Sox for RHP Larry Andersen

Considered one of the most lopsided trades in baseball history, the Astros plucked a future Hall of Famer away from the Red Sox for a journeyman reliever. Bagwell was the 1991 NL Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in 1994, played 15 years in Houston and was a career .297 hitter with 449 homers, 1,529 RBIs and 202 stolen bases.

Andersen spent 17 seasons in the big leagues and appeared in 15 games down the stretch for Boston in 1990, helping them reach the playoffs. Still, it’s a deal the Red Sox would like to have back.

2. Aug. 31, 2017: Astros acquire RHP Justin Verlander from the Tigers for OF Daz Cameron, P Franklin Perez and C Jake Rogers

As the city of Houston reeled in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, the Astros stumbled to an 11-17 record in August and needed a pick-me-up. Enter Verlander, the Tigers ace and 2011 winner of the AL Cy Young and MVP who was looking to go to a contender.

The deal was agreed upon right before the midnight ET deadline, with Verlander agreeing to waive his no-trade clause with a little urging from Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel. Verlander went 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA in five regular-season starts for the Astros that year and won both of his starts in the ALCS against the Yankees en route to being named MVP of the series.

Verlander went on to win two Cy Young Awards, two World Series titles, throw his third no-hitter and reach 3,000 career strikeouts in five-plus terrific years in Houston.

3. Aug. 1, 2016: Astros acquire DH Yordan Alvarez from the Dodgers in exchange for RHP Josh Fields

In what appeared to be an insignificant deal at the time, the Astros wound up with a cornerstone player in Alvarez by sending Fields to the Dodgers. Alvarez unanimously won the 2019 AL Rookie of the Year Award for Houston and he emerged as one of the game’s most feared sluggers.

Alvarez was signed by the Dodgers as an undrafted free agent on June 15, 2016, and he had yet to play a game in their system before he was dealt to the Astros. Fields is best known in Dodgers history for giving up back-to-back homers to Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa, followed by a double by Yuli Gurriel, in the 10th inning of Game 2 of the 2017 World Series, which made it a good trade for Houston.

4. Dec. 10, 1982: Astros acquire RHP Mike Scott from the Mets for OF Danny Heep

A ho-hum trade at the Winter Meetings in 1982 turned out to be a doozy for the Astros. Scott went just 15-17 in his first two years in Houston before he learned the split-fingered fastball from Tigers pitching coach Roger Craig and turned around his career.

Scott went 18-8 with a 3.29 ERA in 1985 and quickly became a star. He went 18-10 and led the Majors in ERA (2.22), shutouts (five), innings pitched (275 1/3) and strikeouts (306) in 1986 en route to the Cy Young Award. He sealed the award when he pitched a no-hitter to clinch the NL West against the Giants on Sept. 25, 1986.

5. Jan. 13, 2018: Astros acquire RHP Gerrit Cole from the Pirates for RHP Joe Musgrove, RHP Michael Feliz, OF Jason Martin and 3B Colin Moran

Coming off the 2017 World Series title, the Astros bolstered their pitching staff by adding Cole from the Pirates. He transformed the way he pitched in Houston and went 15-5 with a 2.88 ERA in 32 starts in ’18 before posting one of the best pitching seasons in Astros history in 2019.

Cole overcame a slow start to blossom into an unstoppable force, going 20-5 with 326 strikeouts and a 0.89 WHIP in 212 1/3 innings pitched, finishing a close second in the 2019 AL Cy Young race to his teammate, Verlander.