We often hear rumors around this time of year, saying that Team A is in on Player B. Sometimes those rumors include more details, such as certain prospect names. Most of the time, we don’t really know the full story, and the majority of rumors never amount to anything. It’s rare that we get complete information on trades. But that’s what we have today.
Deadspin posted some hacked information from the Houston Astros, who apparently keep a database with every discussion they’ve had involving trades. The discussions include last summer’s Bud Norris trade talks, and feature several conversations with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The big thing here is that the Pirates were willing to deal Luis Heredia and their compensation pick this year (who ended up being Trey Supak) in exchange for Norris. The Astros turned it down, wanting Tyler Glasnow in exchange.
The Astros were also looking for Gregory Polanco, although Huntington said he wouldn’t include Polanco in any Norris deal. It seemed that the Pirates were willing to discuss Glasnow, Heredia, and Alen Hanson.
The Astros asked for Glasnow and either Heredia or Nick Kingham, and Neal Huntington said no. That’s when he countered with Heredia plus an additional piece, throwing out the compensation pick. Two days after that conversation, Huntington made the official offer and it was turned down.
It’s interesting to see how this matches up with the rumors from last year. The first interest from the Pirates was June 30th. On July 18th, a tweet came out saying the Pirates were interested.
On July 30th, Jeff Passan tweeted that a package around Tyler Glasnow made the most sense. He also tweeted that the Pirates wouldn’t deal Polanco. This all came five days after the conversation where the Astros asked for Glasnow as the main part of the deal and Huntington said no. It seems pretty obvious where Passan’s sources came from on that one, since Glasnow only made the most sense for the Astros. That was also true at the time.
In my trade values article last year, I wrote that Norris was worth a top 51-100 pitcher and a Grade C hitter. Heredia/comp pick seems to fit in that line of value. However, I also wrote that I wouldn’t deal for Norris. He’s not a particularly good pitcher, even when he’s at his best. This year he has a 3.62 ERA in 87 innings with Baltimore. However, the Pirates are getting the same production from their depth options, while keeping Heredia and the comp pick. That’s all moot, as the Astros declined that offer and wanted Glasnow and Kingham or Glasnow and Heredia. There’s no way that Norris would have been worth that much. I wouldn’t have traded Glasnow or Kingham by themselves.
