Why Astros don’t need Osuna
Deal sends bad message and hurts credibility — no pitcher’s that good
HOUSTON— Based on the acquisition of Roberto Osuna, zerotolerance policy means something a little different in the Astros organization.
On Monday, the Astros completed a trade that sent pitchers Ken Giles, David Paulino and Hector Perez to Toronto in exchange for Osuna. And even though the closer already has 104 major league saves at age 23, the deal is a head scratcher, considering the Astros have a zero-tolerance policy related to abuse of any kind and Osuna is close to completing a 75-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy.
By definition, a zero-tolerance policy is one that gives uncompromising punishment to every person who commits a crime or breaks a rule. Osuna was arrested in Toronto on May 8 and charged with assaulting a woman.
On Monday, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said he was “confident that Osuna is remorseful.”
So the zero-tolerance policy is in effect only for those who aren’t sorry?
This sends a very bad message.
One of the greatest things about last year’s World Series champion Astros was that the team was composed of a lot of “good guys.” They didn’t have attitude, they didn’t have drama and they were great in the community.
Now the Astros have brought on a player whom MLB deemed guilty enough to serve a 75-game suspension.
And the court proceedings are still going. The newest Astro is due back in court on Wednesday.
More details could emerge about his case, but rather than waiting to see how anything plays out, Luhnow said the Astros will cross that bridge when they get to it. After all, the MLB deadline for non-waiver trades is Tuesday afternoon.
It’s good that MLB has policies in place to deal with domestic violence. A 75-game suspension speaks volumes. But if it turns out Osuna is guilty of this crime, he doesn’t deserve the opportunity to play for the Astros or any other team or to be a role model to young men.
In addition to the obvious bad message it sends for the Astros to have Osuna on their roster, domestic violence is something several of the current players don’t take kindly to. After video surfaced of a former Astros prospect beating his girlfriend in March, pitchers Justin Verlander and Lance McCullers Jr. took to Twitter to express their distaste.
“(Middle finger emoji) you man,” Verlander tweeted. “I hope the rest of your life without baseball is horrible. You deserve all that is coming your way!”
Tweeted McCullers: “This is the reality of domestic violence. It’s always brutal, always sickening. We must fight for the victims, video or not. He should be in jail. If you need help, find it. People care.”
It was great to see both men stand up and speak out against domestic violence.
On Monday in Seattle, Verlander said he stood by his previous comments and called this trade a “tough situation.” He said once Osuna arrives, the Astros will “go from there.”
In a text on Monday evening, one Astros player said, “I was surprised to see this move made, and I think it’s going to be really uncomfortable. I trust the organization, but this move doesn’t make sense to me.”
Another player said in a text, “We’ve talked about it among ourselves and want to be positive, but if more comes out and he’s done these terrible things, I don’t know how that will go.”
According to a report from MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, Toronto management decided earlier this season that Osuna wouldn’t play for the Blue Jays again this season. The Jays weren’t ready to take another chance on him, so it’s surprising that the Astros would.
Luhnow acknowledged during a conference call that this trade would be a controversial one and that people would have strong opinions. The Cubs drew similar scrutiny in 2016 when they acquired closer Aroldis Chapman, suspended by MLB for 30 days earlier that year in the wake of a domestic assault charge, in a deadline deal with the Yankees.
As good as the Astros are, they don’t need Osuna.
While he’s good, he’s not going to push them over the edge and make them a ton better.
And even if he were the greatest pitcher in baseball, he wouldn’t be worth the controversy and drama he brings.
Luhnow said he thinks the character of the Astros can help Osuna with a fresh start. Maybe it can, but it’s not up to the Astros to rehabilitate Osuna’s image.
And if they truly had a zerotolerance policy for domestic violence, they wouldn’t even try.