The Astros had some interest in Matt Moore when the southpaw was a free agent last winter, and it looks like that interest extended into Moore’s recent visits to the waiver wire. According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the Astros put claims on Moore when he was put on waivers by both the Angels and Guardians, only to be beaten to the punch both times by Cleveland and then Miami, Moore’s current team. A claiming team was only responsible for the relatively small amount of salary remaining from the one-year, $7.55MM deal Moore signed with the Halos last winter, so it’s safe to assume that most contending teams put in claims on the lefty’s services, so the Astros were maybe a longshot to have Moore fall to them in the waiver order. Houston had has one of the better records in baseball for most of the season, thus putting them behind all the clubs with lesser records (like the Guardians and Marlins) in terms of claims.
It stands to reason that Houston might also look into finally landing Moore when he returns to the free agent market this offseason. In the near-term, however, it is fair to wonder if adding Moore might have helped the Astros avoid their suddenly late-season slump. Houston has lost nine of its last 12 games, dropping the club from first place in the AL West to fighting just to make the playoffs altogether.
