Osuna has not appeared in an MLB game since May 6 with the Blue JaysGETTY IMAGES
The fallout for the Astros likely "will continue" after they "took a huge risk and gambled with their community goodwill" by trading for Blue Jays P Roberto Osuna, according to Tom Verducci of SI.com. Osuna is "serving the last days of a 75-game suspension for violating baseball’s domestic abuse policy." Verducci: "Of all the relievers that changed teams, this is the guy the Astros bank on? A guy charged two months ago with assaulting a woman?" The Astros "traded for toxicity," and GM Jeff Luhnow "looked silly talking about his team’s 'zero tolerance' policy, as if assault is tolerable when in the employ of another team" (SI.com, 7/31). Verducci said, "The Astros have built up a tremendous amount of goodwill. ... They harmed that with this deal" ("MLB Tonight," MLBN, 7/31). In Houston, Brian Smith notes the trade was so "controversial that the undisputed positive of moving on" from embattled P Ken Giles was "completely ignored." After trading for Osuna, then "bungling the public explanation, a fun-loving team that had become so easy to pull for will have to spend the rest of 2018 standing up for itself" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 8/1).
TAINTED IMAGE: In Houston, David Barron in a front-page piece writes the Astros are being described in the national sports media as "moral bankrupts, sacrificing a portion of their boundless supply of local goodwill for an arm, no matter how tainted its owner, that can get outs in the ninth inning" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 8/1). In Toronto, Richard Griffin writes the Astros have "sold their soul for a closer who could divide the clubhouse" (TORONTO STAR, 8/1). In Houston, Dale Robertson writes under the header, "Astros Flirt With Trouble By Adding Robert Osuna." Before making the trade for Osuna, the Astros were "champions with a good-guy image, seemingly as squeaky clean as a pro sports team can be" (CHRON.com, 8/1). ESPN's Bomani Jones said, "I don't think that they violated any bit of morality by making that trade." He added, "If you want these guys banished then put it in the rules that they're banished. If they're not banished then somebody has the right to employ them." Jones: "The Cubs don't have an asterisk for that (P) Aroldis Chapman ring and that's how the Astros look themselves in the mirror I would guess" ("High Noon," ESPN, 7/31).
CHOOSE YOUR WORDS CAREFULLY: MLB Network's Dan O'Dowd said, "I wish the Astros simply just said, 'He makes us a better team, ... winning is more important to us than standards, as an organization, that reflect our values and the character we place within our players'" ("MLB Tonight," MLBN, 7/31). MLB Network's Chris Rose: "Luhnow, come out and say it: 'We care more about defending the World Series championship than we do about taking on a guy that's got questions about him'" ("International Talk," ESPN2, 7/31). CBSSN's Adam Schein: "Luhnow is so well-respected in league circles ... but he really lost me yesterday when had the nerve and the chutzpah to stress the Astros' zero-tolerance policy." Schein: "You can't say that and then trade for someone who has been suspended for domestic violence. Luhnow's comments were cringe-inducing" ("Time to Schein," CBSSN, 7/31).
