The Houston Astros struck on a late-Wednesday night deal.
As first reported by Jon Heyman of The New York Post, the Astros traded for Ramon Urias of the Baltimore Orioles, adding the third baseman in the wake of Isaac Paredes potentially missing the remainder of the season with his hamstring injury.
Brian McTaggart of MLB.com later reported that minor league pitcher Twine Palmer was sent back to the Orioles in the deal.
Houston, knowing they might need a potential fill in for Paredes, had been linked to tons of high-profile names ahead of the deadline. A reunion with former superstar shortstop Carlos Correa was being explored alongside a revisit of the Nolan Arenado trade that was vetoed this past winter.
However, it seems like they settled on Urias, a reliable veteran infielder who can play across the infield but whose primary position is third base.
A Gold Glove winner in 2022, Urias actually showed some improvement at the plate last season when he slashed .254/.322/.423 with 11 home runs and 37 RBI for an OPS+ that was 14 points above the league average of 100.
While he hasn’t reached that level this year, he still slashed .248/.300/.388 with eight homers and 34 RBI across 100 games with the Orioles before he was dealt.
What makes this deal even more interesting is the fact that he’s under club control for another season.
Because of that, Urias will not only help for the remainder of this year, but he’ll be a factor for next season’s team, too, whether that’s as a primary second baseman or as a utility man like he’s been with Baltimore as of late.
Palmer is a 20-year-old right-handed pitcher who is at the Single-A level this year after being drafted in the 19th round of the 2024 draft.
Thus far, he’s posted a 2.13 ERA across 13 outings (eight starts), striking out 44 batters in 42 1/3 innings pitched while also walking 22.
Not ranked inside the Astros’ top 30 prospects, this appears to be a great deal on the surface to bring in a solid third baseman for the remainder of the season who also has another year of club control.
