Straw stirred the drink for Astros, Tailspin follows his departure

Updated Monday, August 9, 2021

Dusty Baker seemed anguished when asked about a trade that was barely noticed among all the blockbusters of baseball’s deadline.  The Astros, in their endless search for relief pitchers, dealt their starting center fielder who was their best ballhawk, their leading base stealer and – perhaps most important of all – court jester, 26-year-old Myles Straw.   

Asked in a Zoom press conference if he’s upset about losing Straw to Cleveland, the Astros’ manager said, “I can’t answer that.  I’m not the decision maker.  Sometimes you have to do what the organization asks.”

Though trying to be diplomatic – or at least to appear so — Baker clearly didn’t like the trade.  He gushed with praise for Straw and had nothing to say about the pitcher Houston received in return, Phil Maton: “Straw played outstanding center field.  And was getting better.  . . .  We’re going to miss his speed.  This team had limited speed, but he was the fastest runner we had.”

In fact, Straw is one of the fastest players in the major leagues.  He’s succeeded on 19 of 24 steal attempts.  

He has no power, but he showed his tracking speed last week in a game against Toronto.  His dash-and-slide into the wall robbed Teoscar Hernandez of a ninth-inning hit and made the highlights.

The Indians believe they have their center fielder for at least four years.  Straw is in his sophomore season, earning $590,000.  He doesn’t reach free agency until after the 2025 season. 

The Astros see Maton, 28, as their No. 5 relief pitcher.

Astros general manager James Click also acquired Class A catcher Yainer Diaz, who at 22 was not ranked among Cleveland’s top 20 prospects.

Baker did not sound thrilled by the sudden addition of four relievers: Kendall  Graveman, Yimi Garcia, Rafael Montero and Maton.  “We’ve got to figure out where to put them in a short amount of time.”

Except for Graveman, who’s 4-0 with 10 saves and a 0.74 ERA, there’s a sameness about Click’s acquisitions.  They’re all righthanded and they’re all average at best, barely an upgrade over what Baker already had.   

I don’t like the chances of improving by swapping a solid young starting center fielder for an average middle reliever and a Class A catcher.  There are lots of those around.

Click claims Chas McCormick replaces Straw at a key defensive position without causing a significant drop in overall performance.  McCormick has more power (11 homers to 3) and the better OPS (.787-.680).  In Click’s mind, McCormick’s offensive production makes up for the fact that Straw covers more ground and has thrown out 5 base runners, McCormick none.

While Straw is a true center fielder, McCormick is a prototypical fourth outfielder, lacking the range to play center, the arm to play right or the bat to play left.

And then there are the intangibles.  Straw, with his California sunniness and good-natured, needling humor, kept the mood light in the clubhouse, on the plane, on the bus, in the dugout, on the field.  He never seemed tired.

“You can tell the guys are a little upset that Straw left,” McCormick told the Houston Chronicle.  “Straw’s personality we’re going to miss.  He always brought a ton of energy.”

Team physics and chemistry are difficult to measure.  Analytics are no help.  Millions of words have been written about feuding teammates in Oakland and New York who wore rings.  More than other team sports, baseball is a game of individual battles.

But I remember how the Astros sagged, mood-wise and record-wise, with the past departures of moderately skilled players Luis Gonzalez and Casey Candaele, whose buoyant personalities brightened the scene wherever they were.  The Astros saw what they missed in Gonzo and brought him back.   “We don’t care what you hit,” he was told, “just get these guys to relax.”

Candaele’s uplifting personality was acknowledged by the Blue Jays, who last spring chose him to manage their top farm club, the Buffalo Bisons.

So far, the Astros look like deadline losers.   They seem emotionally flat, losing a series to the Giants, then splitting with the Dodgers, then losing three of four to the sad-sack Twins.  Maton had a disastrous outing Sunday in a 7-5 loss at Minute Maid: two-thirds of an inning, 3 earned runs allowed.  Houston’s lead over Oakland in the American League West has shrunk from 3 ½ games at trade deadline to 2 games.

A close friend of Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker and first baseman Yuli Gurriel, Straw is an international bridge in the clubhouse.  Any team would value that.   Trading Myles Straw hurt the Astros’ offense, defense and clubhouse ambience, without necessarily strengthening the bullpen or saving them money.