Houston’s Harsh Awakening: Former Stars’ Explosive Performances With New Teams Deliver a Brutal Dose of Reality, Exposing Costly Mistakes and Leaving Astros Fans Reeling
The Houston Astros underwent some serious transformation this offseason, though with the way things have gone so far, perhaps they should have made more of an effort to retain their stars.
As shared by the official Major League Baseball social media channels on Monday, both Alex Bregman for the Boston Red Sox and Kyle Tucker for the Chicago Cubs have been named as the American League and National League Players of the Week, respectively.
Both players absolutely raked this past week for their new clubs. Meanwhile, the Astros got swept at home by the San Francisco Giants and won a tight series over the Minnesota Twins.
Bregman, who helped the Red Sox win five games in a row (including a sweep over the St. Louis Cardinals), went 11-for-27 with five doubles, two home runs, and 10 RBI.
Tucker also helped his team win five straight games, going 9-for-23 with three home runs and eight RBI to continue his ridiculous start. The 28-year-old leads the National League in home runs, RBI, OPS and total bases.
Interestingly, the two former teammates are tied for the MLB lead in hits with 15.
It’s a brutal slap in the face to Houston fans, who wanted to see the team keep at least one (if not both) of them.
While the Astros made a competitive offer to Breman, he ultimately took less guaranteed money to play for Boston, indicating he wanted to move on.
And while Houston got a phenomenal return for Tucker, trading him might not have been necessary if the Astros had given him a market-value extension.
To make matters worse, the Cubs and Red Sox are both thriving. Boston’s half a game out of first place in the AL East behind the New York Yankees, while Chicago’s leading the NL Central.
Meanwhile, Houston has struggled with its two stars, going 4-5 to start the season.
The Astros can only try to move on, but it’s going to sting if Tucker and Bregman keep flourishing for their new squads.
