Deja vu: Astros trade Lowrie to back to Athletics
If trends keep up, Jed Lowrie may want to make sure he keeps two homes; one in Oakland and another in Houston.
Wednesday, the Houston Astros announced infielder Lowrie has been traded to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for minor-league RHP Brendan McCurry. The trade marks the second time --in the two times he was acquired by Houston via trade and free agency, respectively -- that Lowrie has been traded to the A's by the Astros.
After a trade prior to the 2013 season by the Astros -- fresh off a 107-loss 2012 season in Houston -- Lowrie spent two seasons in Oakland. He signed a three-year deal with the Astros last offseason to play everyday at shortstop as the club waited for Carlos Correa to be major-league ready.
Lowrie, who has been prone to injury problems in his eight years in the majors, was forced to take a prolonged stint on the disabled list early last season, opening the door for the Astros to call up Correa, who was demolishing minor league pitchers at the time, ahead of schedule.
For Lowrie, the rest was history, as Correa went on to prove he was more than big-league ready, going on to win the AL Rookie of the Year award.
The Astros gave Lowrie some playing time at third base when he returned from the DL in the second half of the season, but with everyday third baseman Luis Valbuena's power swing picking up down the stretch after a very slow start to the season, Lowrie became expendable as his playing time decreased in the last month of the season and into the playoffs. He hit .222/.312/.400 with nine home runs in 263 plate appearances in 69 games in 2015.
While the writing was on the wall for Lowrie's departure, he didn't seemed to be too thrilled about leaving Houston so soon.
"I'm disappointed to leave Houston. I think the Astros are obviously a team headed in the right direction," Lowrie said, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. "I signed a three-year deal [in Houston] thinking I'd be there for those three years."
As for McCurry coming to the Houston organization, the 23-year-old righty appeared in 50 games between Advanced Class A and Double-A in 2015. He had a 1.86 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 82 strikeouts in 63 innings combined. He was selected in the 22nd round of the 2014 MLB Draft out of Oklahoma State. With good minor-league numbers, and having college playing experience, McCurry could soon be looked to join the Astros to help bolster the bullpen that struggled late last season into the playoffs.
