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The Houston Astros had a busy trade deadline, but not in the way many people thought they would. Houston came into July seemingly needing pitching help, both in the form of starters or relievers, but they ended up beefing up the batting order instead.
The Astros made waves when they agreed to bring back shortstop Carlos Correa in a trade with the Minnesota Twins, bringing back one of the biggest pieces from their 2017 World Series team. Houston also made deals for Miami Marlins outfielder Jesus Sanchez and Baltimore Orioles third baseman Ramon Urias, so it certainly improved out in the field.
However, there were no deals for any pitchers despite plenty of buzz surrounding potential deals for Justin Verlander, Sandy Alcantara and Dylan Cease. The noise around a Cease deal was the loudest, but nothing ended up coming out of it. The Astros were interested, but they would not trade young pitcher Spencer Arrighetti in a deal for Cease according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
“The Padres never had any intention of trading closer Robert Suarez, and were never close to trading starter Dylan Cease, realizing they are a much stronger team with him,” Nightengale reported. “They did have late talks with the Astros, but the Astros balked at including younger Spencer Arrighetti in a package with three prospects.”
Arrighetti has struggled with injuries so far in 2025, but he made two starts in the big leagues at the beginning of the season. In those games, he pitched 9 2/3 innings and game up six earned runs with eight strikeouts.
In the end, the Padres ended up being some of the most aggressive buyers in the league at the trade deadline after it looked like they may be offloading some pieces. Instead, they kept Cease and made a number of trades to upgrade the lineup as well as its pitching, including a deal to acquire both JP Sears and Mason Miller from the Athletics.
The Astros may be able to upgrade the bullpen with a potential Ryan Pressly signing after his release from the Cubs, but its starting rotation seems set for the foreseeable future. After the Cease deal fell through, Arrighetti will have some high expectations to live up to when he is back on the field.
