My thoughts on giving up Bloss/Loperfido/Wagner

Alright so here’s my copium about why this trade happened and what it means for the Astros. Yes, the Astros gave up a lot of young talent. Yes, the Astros overpaid relative to what other teams are giving for similar players. There’s no way around that, and it feels bad right now.

When it comes to Joey Loperfido, the Astros felt that they have better outfielders in the system that can do what he does better. Loperfido is athletic, fast, great defensively, has serious power (that hasnt shown up yet in the majors), but strikes out a TON and doesn’t maintain a high batting average. You know who has that EXACT same profile? Trey Cabbage. Here’s Joey’s slash line: .236/.299/.358 Here’s Cabbage’s slash line: .234/.263/.377 Almost identical.
When it comes to the Astros organizational OF depth chart: Alvarez Tucker Meyers Dubon McCormick Loperfido Cabbage Pedro Leon (AAA) Jacob Melton (AAA) Zach Cole (AA) Kenedy Corona (AA) Luis Baez (A+)

The Astros are STACKED with outfielders. Pedro Leon is ready to play in the majors. He might even be with the Astros tomorrow. Jacob Melton is the Astros top prospect, and they LOVE him. They traded Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford and Joey Loperfido, and kept Melton. The front office thinks Melton will be legit, and he’ll be on the Astros in 2025. Loperfido is expendable because the Astros have so many talented outfielders.

Will Wagner plays first base, second base, and third base. He hits for a high average, and walks more than he strikes out. He was an 18th round pick with very little prospect pedigree, but has worked his way to AAA because he has hit well at every level. But you know who else is at AAA? Shay Whitcomb and Zach Dezenzo. Whitcomb plays 2B, SS, and 3B. He hit the most homers in minor league baseball in 2023. He has 20 homers, 25 steals, and is hitting .290 in 2024. He’s proven he can hit AAA pitching and is just waiting for a chance in the majors. Dezenzo is the highest ranked prospect of these three guys, primarily a third baseman. He put up big numbers in 2023 and just recorded 10 hits and 2 homers in his first five games at AAA. These are the guys who will compete for the third base job next season if the Astros do not re-sign Bregman, which they might do anyway. Will Wagner deserves a shot to play in the majors, but like Loperfido, the Astros are not hurting for guys at this position.

Jake Bloss being in this deal is a little less understandable. The Astros are lacking pitching depth in the majors, obviously, and are also lacking pitching depth in the upper minors. There isn’t a clear hierarchy of guys waiting at AAA and AA for their shot in the big leagues. Dana Brown’s strength is scouting and drafting, and a couple weeks ago, he drafted 11 college pitchers out of 19 picks. That’s a huge step towards replenishing the pitching depth of the upper minors. Bloss wasn’t ready to pitch in the majors, but was thrust into the position due to many, many injuries above him on the depth chart. He did an admirable job filling in, and I’m sad to see him go.

The Astros paid a high price, and these guys will be good ballpayers in the majors, but like so many previous Astros trades, it won’t hurt to see these guys on other teams, because who we have in their position will be better. I trust that the Astros evaluate Leon and Melton at a higher level than Loperfido, and Dezenzo and Whitcomb at a higher level than Wagner, and so chose to let those guys go.

At the end of the day, the most important factor in judging this trade is this: how good will Yusei Kikuchi be?