Houston Astros thrive despite disappointing deadline results

The turnaround the Houston Astros have experienced in the 2024 season has been nothing short of remarkable.

Earlier this summer, they were double-digits behind the Seattle Mariners in the American League West standings. Many people thought the team’s current core had run its course and that significant trades would be made before the trade deadline.

There were a few headline-grabbing trades, but none involved the sale of marquee players like Alex Bregman. Instead, the team was in the midst of an impressive rebound, as it now controls the American League West Division.

Thanks to the Mariners’ loss, Houston has a six-game lead over Seattle heading into the Sept. 3 opener. It would take a debacle of pretty epic proportions for the Astros not to win the AL West crown for the fourth straight season and seventh time in the last eight.

Baseball has gotten better as the team has gotten better. The events were a happy turn of events and the reversion to the mean was positive, as the changes Houston made before the deadline didn’t really pay off.

As ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle shared, they were one of two contenders, along with the Minnesota Twins, who didn’t do much to help themselves, but it didn’t hurt them.

“Yusei Kikuchi has been consistent for Houston, which has helped the rotation as it continues to get into playoff shape. As mentioned in the Yankees entry, Ferguson has a lousy WPA but has been solid of late and hasn’t been used to much anyway. Overall, this still looks to be a quiet deadline for Houston. Still, the Astros now seem even more destined for another AL West title than they did a month ago,” Doolittle wrote.

Much has been made of the deal to acquire budding free agent Yusei Kikuchi from the Toronto Blue Jays. They paid a high price for a potential player who could come back to haunt them.

One player, Will Wagner, had a meteoric start to his major league career.

Unfortunately, the Astros aren’t focused on the future. They’re preoccupied with the present, while they’re at the top of their game and looking like they’re once again a real contender in the American League.

Will they make it to their eighth straight ALC Championship Series? It would be hard to find anyone willing to bet against that possibility.