Astros' Controversial Roberto Osuna Trade Blows Up in Critical ALCS Game 3

The Houston Astros traded for ace relief pitcher Roberto Osuna when he was in the middle of a 75-game suspension related to a domestic assault charge. There was bound to come a moment when that decision looked as bad on the field as it did in the department of basic decency.

This moment arrived Tuesday, October 16. Specifically, in the eighth inning of Houston's 8-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.

It was a one-run game when Osuna entered in the top of the eighth at Minute Maid Park. He initially looked like the same pitcher who was an All-Star with the Toronto Blue Jays and put up a 1.99 ERA in 23 regular-season appearances with the Astros. Two of the first three batters he faced made outs.

But then Osuna hit Brock Holt with a pitch to load the bases. Then he hit Mitch Moreland. Like that, Houston's deficit was doubled.

After that came Jackie Bradley Jr. with the gamebreaker off Osuna: a grand slam into the right field seats that pushed the Red Sox's lead to six runs and, ultimately, clinched a 2-1 series lead.

All told, Osuna was charged with five runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning. It is the worst performance of his four-year major league career.

In the words of Astros manager A.J. Hinch, per MLB.com's Mark Feinsand: "It's a 3-2 ballgame until all hell broke loose there."

It's tempting to view Osuna's collapse as karma for what got him suspended by Major League Baseball in the first place. But that's equal parts tricky and foolish.

The details of what led to his May arrest and subsequent suspension have been kept under wraps, and revelations aren't coming any time soon. The charge against the 23-year-old was dropped when he agreed to a peace bond. The accuser—a woman who has a young child with him—had declined to travel from Mexico to Toronto to testify.

Whatever Osuna may have done to deserve his punishment, karma isn't going for him when he's on the mound anyway. Scales such as these can't be balanced by a couple of bad pitches in a silly game for kids.

For the Astros, on the other hand, what happened in the eighth inning Tuesday is absolutely karmic retribution.

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Though the Astros didn't break any rules when they traded for Osuna ahead of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, the very act of doing so made them guilty of extreme cynicism.

The Astros didn't look at Osuna and see a toxic asset. They looked and saw a marked-down item. All they needed to give up to get him was a few spare parts (fallen closer Ken Giles and fellow right-handers David Paulino and Hector Perez) and perhaps a little dignity.

The Astros may have underestimated how much dignity the deal would cost them, however.

The backlash was immediate and fierce. General manager Jeff Luhnow didn't help matters by insulting everyone's intelligence in a statement meant to reassure everyone that Osuna would "fully comply with our zero tolerance policy related to abuse of any kind." When you claim zero tolerance for abusers while bringing in a guy accused of abuse, then you don't actually have a zero tolerance policy.

As far as the Astros were clearly concerned, however, what mattered was the long game. Unlike the joint drug agreement, MLB's domestic violence policy doesn't include postseason bans for suspended players. The more Osuna did to help deliver their second straight World Series championship, the more the controversy of his acquisition figured to blow over.

Well, go figure that his biggest game as an Astro to date resulted in a critical ALCS loss. As MLB.com's Brian McTaggart noted, history is now firmly on the Red Sox's side after Osuna's meltdown:

After opening with a 7-2 thud at Fenway Park in Game 1, the Red Sox have certainly looked more like a 108-game winner in claiming Games 2 and 3.

Their hitters have worked tough at-bats against Gerrit Cole, Dallas Keuchel and an array of Houston relievers. Chris Sale, David Price and Nathan Eovaldi bent but didn't break at the start of games. And after a rough showing in Game 1, Boston's bullpen has allowed one run on three hits in 7.1 innings over the last two.

Of course, it would be foolish to write the Astros off entirely.

They were 103-game winners in their own right in the regular season, and one can still look at them and see a team that matches up well with Boston. The Astros can come back on the Red Sox by outpitching, outhitting or outfielding them. Osuna putting Game 3 behind him and getting back to his dominant ways could indeed be part of the equation.

For now, though, they're reeling from an ugly loss that's the fault of a player whose very presence on the team is outrageous to many. Darn it if something about that doesn't feel right.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference.