At the 2022 MLB trade deadline, the Houston Astros did not make any major blockbuster trades. However, they did make a few big moves to shore up the depth of their roster. The Astros acquired utility man Trey Mancini, catcher Christian Vazquez and left-handed reliever Will Smith in three separate deals. With under two weeks to go in the regular season, let’s see how Houston’s trio of acquisitions are doing. Here is their Astros trade acquisition progress report.
Astros Trade Acquisition Update
Trey Mancini: B
Mancini’s time in an Astros uniform has been a bit of a mixed bag thus far, so he gets a B for his grade. The veteran is slashing .184/.270/.390 entering Saturday, with a 27.7% strikeout rate with Houston. However, Mancini has also done many good things with the Astros. Eight of Mancini’s 26 hits since being acquired are home runs, and he has driven in 21 runs in 43 games. He has played wherever Houston has asked as well. He has appeared at DH 20 times, left field 13 times, first base seven times, and right field once.
Beyond the field, Mancini has fit into the Astros clubhouse very well. Just as he was with the Baltimore Orioles, Mancini is a beloved member of Houston’s clubhouse. Mancini received a standing ovation when the Astros played the Orioles in Baltimore earlier this week. Mancini’s impact on a team and a community go beyond the diamond.
Christian Vazquez: C
Vazquez was acquired from the Boston Red Sox to be a stronger offensive option than Martin Maldonado and to give Maldonado a few more days off, who was carrying a heavy workload. To this point, Vazquez has not put it together at the plate, which is why he gets a C. In 84 games with the Red Sox, the veteran hit .282, but in 27 games with the Astros, he is hitting .229. Vazquez wasn’t a major power threat with Boston, but he did have 28 extra-base hits. With Houston, he has one extra-base hit, a double.
While Vazquez hasn’t been the offensive upgrade that Houston had hoped he’d be, the 32-year-old has learned the pitching staff nicely. Handling a pitching staff is essential at the catcher position, and that is where his value comes from. Vazquez hasn’t quite been what everyone hoped, but he has still had value to this team, so he gets a passing grade of a C.
Will Smith: A-
Going into the trade deadline, arguably the most glaring hole that the Astros had was the lack of a trusted lefty reliever. Smith has become that for Houston. In 21 appearances in an Astros uniform, the 33-year-old has a 2.79 ERA. The two things that you want your relievers to do is limit the walks and the homers. Smith has walked only four batters and given up just two home runs. The veteran has struck out batters at a bit of a lower rate, 8.8 per nine innings as opposed to 10 per nine, but the run prevention has been very good, which is most important. Smith hasn’t been perfect, but he has been extremely effective; therefore, he gets an A-.
With the additions that the Astros made at the trade deadline, there have been some ups and downs. However, Houston didn’t acquire these players to be major difference makers. They were brought over to be contributing players on an already strong roster. While these scores are far from perfect, all three pass their Astros trade acquisition progress report because they contribute to the team and provide a lot of depth. Plus, this trio has the rest of the regular season and the postseason to raise their scores and make a big impact.
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Players mentioned:
Trey Mancini, Christian Vazquez, Martin Maldonado, Will Smith
