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Price is the key word, though. Look around the league, and you see a #4 like Adrian Houser getting $11 million a year. Merrill Kelly, a pretty good comp for Burrows, got $20 million a year. Michael King, a #3 with #2 upside, got a guaranteed $25 million over three years with opt outs. It’s become very clear over the last two years that the Astros are pulling back on payroll. The Kyle Tucker trade, letting Alex Bregman walk, likely letting Valdez leave...this is a team that was over the tax threshold in 2024 and 2025 and is determined to be under it in 2026. Trading two prospects, two of the best in a weak system, for a $750,000 starter fits that plan more than going into free agency for similar talent does.
The Astros missed the playoffs last year for the first time since 2016. There are wide enough error bars on Melton and Brito that you can debate the merits of this trade, but you can’t argue that it is another marker of a new, lesser era of Astros baseball.
