Former Astros' GM regrets trading for Blue Jays reliever Roberto Osuna in lookback at controversial deal

Hamilton Spectator

3 days ago

If
Jeff Luhnow
could go back in time, the former Houston Astros general manager said he wouldn't have dealt for controversial
Blue Jays
reliever
Roberto Osuna
in 2018.
Osuna was serving a 75-game suspension for violating MLB's domestic violence policy — he was accused of punching the mother of his child — when the Astros acquired the reliever from Toronto, which received pitchers Ken Giles, Héctor Pérez and David Paulino in return.
The trade caused
an uproar among the Astros fans
who questioned their front office for bringing in a player with questionable behaviour.
Osuna was charged with assault by Toronto police
but it was withdrawn
when the pitcher agreed to a peace bond. Osuna was
greeted with loud boos by Blue Jays fans when he returned to Rogers Centre
after the trade.
Luhnow, discussing his MLB trade deadline experiences during
an appearance on the 'Crush City Territory' podcast
posted Friday, said the deal was one of the most challenging acts of his front-office career.
'It's a tough one. I learned a lot from that experience, and I think I would do things differently today than I did then,' he told co-hosts Chandler Rome and Tyler Stafford.
No one disputed that Osuna had the talent to help the Astros, who were
coming off their first World Series win
and needed to add a closer on their roster.
'At that time Osuna was the most successful closer of his age in the history of the game. Really incredible what he'd done,' Luhnow said.
He knew there would be a difference of opinion on the trade, but he didn't want it to be solely based on what transpired off the field.
Luhnow and the Astros did their research in to Osuna's domestic violence case. They talked to his lawyer, agent and teammates about his behaviour to assess whether this had been 'a one-time event' that he regretted and felt remorseful about, or whether it reflected a pattern that could bring problems to his new team.
'I didn't take into account, as much as I should have, the impact it would have on our fans, especially our female fans and how they would feel. And that was a mistake,' said Luhnow, who added that he also consulted female friends and family.
Giving Osuna 'a second chance' felt like the right thing to do at the time, Luhnow said, but he now believes the trade wasn't the right move to make.
The Astros did return to the World Series the following season with Osuna but fell to the Washington Nationals in a seven-game series.
'Did he help us accomplish our goals on the field? To a certain extent he did, I still think he could have been better,' said Luhnow.
After two seasons, Osuna suffered an elbow injury and the Astros later released him. Now 30 years old, Osuna has been playing baseball in Japan since 2020, first with the Chiba Lotte Marines and
now with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
.
Osuna was an all-star in 2017 and recorded 104 total saves in four seasons with the Jays. He led the American League with 38 in 2019 with the Astros.
Luhnow was fired by the Astros
in 2020
following the league's sanctions against the team over the sign-stealing scandal during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
He's since purchased ownership in two soccer clubs, one in Mexico and
another in Spain
.