Houston finally comes through with a big offseason move

Astros land outfielder Michael Brantley to two-year deal

Chris Campise
Dec 17, 2018, 6:50 pm
The move helps reinforce the offensive power of Houston's outfield. Jason Miller/Getty Images

While many Astros fans wait for the acquisition of a star catcher or starting pitcher, the Astros instead made their first big splash of the 2018-19 offseason by signing free agent outfielder Michael Brantley to a two-year deal.

Brantley entered free agency at the end of the 2018 season, ending his tenure with the Cleveland Indians where he has spent his entire major league career to this point, dating back to his debut in 2009. Brantley is a three-time all-star, making the American League All-Star roster in 2014, 2017, and 2018, and sits with a career .295 batting average. He was also awarded a silver slugger award in 2014, a year he also finished third in AL MVP voting.

Brantley made a nice comeback in 2018, having one of his best seasons after two injury-shortened campaigns in 2016 and 2017. Brantley finished 2018 with an AL fifth-best average at .309 and drove in 76 runs. He has the upside of bringing a lot of consistency to a spot in the lineup, helping an already potent offense convert even more runs.

With most of his play in left field, it's unclear what this signing could mean for the future of Josh Reddick, who is allegedly on the trading block, but in any case it was a good free agent pickup for Houston and at the worst provides some depth in the outfield, which was sorely needed.

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How the Deshaun Watson trade is still paying dividends for Houston Texans

After another poor performance from former Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson, the Cleveland Browns' season is starting to look like an uphill climb. Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb is out for the year, and Cleveland fans aren't too pleased with the way Watson is playing, especially considering the massive contract extension he signed with the team. And we didn't even get to the off the field drama that comes with Watson.

However, Houston fans are invested in the Browns' season outcome as well, with the Texans holding the Browns' first round pick in 2024, and having sent their own first rounder to the Cardinals in the Will Anderson trade.

So each loss for the Browns, means a better draft pick for the Texans!

For Houston, it looks like they have their QB of the future in CJ Stroud. And he'll be on a less expensive rookie contract for the next several years, giving the Texans more cap space to upgrade the roster.

With all of this in mind, is it fair to question if the Texans dodged a bullet when Watson demanded a trade?

DeMeco Ryans vs. Lovie Smith

Plus, we're only two games into the season, but Lovie Smith's defense was much better (with a similar roster) than what DeMeco Ryans' defense has shown thus far, and DeMeco has the benefit of Will Anderson rushing the QB.

Are the struggles on defense more about the roster GM Nick Caserio has put together, or does this slow start fall on DeMeco?

Don't miss the video above as we break it all down!

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