Guardians-Blue Jays trade proves Astros won Myles Straw deal
The Astros won this trade.
On Friday, the Cleveland Guardians and Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a trade involving former Houston Astros outfielder Myles Straw. Straw was sent to Toronto in the deal, proving that Houston, who previously traded Straw to Cleveland, won their deal with the Guardians.
“The Guardians gave up two and a half seasons of Phil Maton and six seasons of Yainer Diaz for Straw at the 2021 trade deadline. Maton allowed one earned run in 18.1 playoff innings in Houston. Diaz has been worth 6.4 bWAR since he debuted,” Chandler Rome of The Athletic wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Guardians-Astros trade proves Astros won Myles Straw deal
The Astros traded Straw to the Guardians in 2021. Straw impressed Cleveland enough to earn a five-year, $25 million contract extension in 2022. He struggled mightily at the plate during the ’22 campaign, but he did end up earning a Gold Glove Award, per Baseball Reference. His offensive shortcomings became too much to ignore in 2024, though, and Straw ended up in Triple-A.
Straw re-joined the big league team in September, but it had become clear that Cleveland was likely headed in a different direction. Sure enough, the Guardians traded him to the Blue Jays on Friday.
The Astros’ return from the Straw trade has helped Houston to say the least. Maton spent part of 2021 and then all of 2022 and 2023 in Houston. The right-handed reliever played a role in helping the ball club win the 2022 World Series. In 2023, Maton turned in an impressive 3.00 ERA across 68 games pitched out of the Astros’ bullpen.
Diaz, meanwhile, could factor into Houston’s long-term plans. He has already displayed signs of becoming a star at the MLB level.
In 2023, Diaz hit .282 to go along with an .846 OPS and 23 home runs across 104 games played. Diaz then followed that up by slashing .299/.325/.441/.766 in 148 games played in 2024. He also hit 16 home runs and recorded 84 RBI.
Myles Straw enjoyed some big moments in Cleveland. He is a player who can play a quality brand of defense while stealing bases. However, Straw’s offensive woes are difficult to overlook. Meanwhile, the Astros acquired a reliever who helped them win a World Series and a catcher who has an opportunity to become a star.
With Straw being traded on Friday, there is no question that the Astros unquestionably won the Myles Straw deal with the Guardians.
