Astros-Diamondbacks Zack Greinke Trade Was Another Example of MLB's Malpractice in Houston's Dealings

In the final significant roster move before they were exposed, the Houston Astros traded with the Arizona Diamondbacks to land ace Zack Greinke to pair him with Justin Verlander for the next couple of years.

Houston was set to lose Gerrit Cole -- whom they acquired in another shoddy trade -- in free agency, so general manager Jeff Luhnow worked his magic and managed to acquire another top MLB arm for pretty much nothing. The D-Backs got their hands on prospect pitchers Corbin Martin and J.B. Bukauskas and hitters Seth Beer and Josh Rojas.

Let's make this clear: the Astros acquired Cole, Verlander AND Greinke in trades that VERY MUCH worked out for them and them only.

Of course, it remains to be seen how this works out over the next few years considering the development of prospects takes time, but the fact that the Astros didn't have to give up Kyle Tucker in this deal AND the Diamondbacks ate some money in the process is truly mental. What they've given up to acquire three aces over the course of the last three years is truly malpractice on commissioner Rob Manfred's part ... especially when you look at the totality of this specific trade:

• JB Bakauskas: 5.44 ERA in 22 games (16 starts) in Double-A last season

• Corbin Martin: made his MLB debut in 2019 to the tune of a 5.59 ERA in five starts and then underwent Tommy John surgery

• Seth Beer: Cool name and pretty good player -- he slashed .289/.388/.516 with 26 home runs and 103 RBI in High-A and Double-A throughout 2019

• Josh Rojas: he cracked the bigs last year with Arizona but slashed just .217/.312/.312 in 41 games. Not great.

There's certainly some potential here, but not enough to warrant acquiring an ace of Greinke's caliber and experience. Another L for baseball in letting this trade go through.