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Houston Astros pitcher Bryan Abreu (52) points after a play during the eighth inning against the Texas Rangers at Daikin Park
The Houston Astros reportedly agreed to trade Bryan Abreu to the Minnesota Twins for Trevor Larnach before owner Jim Crane stepped in and killed the deal at the last possible moment. Both players then remained with organizations that had already decided they were comfortable sending them somewhere else, which should create a wonderfully normal clubhouse environment.
The Astros and Twins have reportedly settled on the one-for-one exchange before Crane used the ownership equivalent of unplugging the PlayStation while everyone else was still playing.
A league source confirmed the deal was real and that Crane personally intervened. The exact reason behind his decision remains unclear, which leaves us with the extremely funny image of two front offices spending hours negotiating only for the owner to wander into the room and say, “Nope,” without elaborating.
Houston would have received a left-handed outfielder enjoying the best season of his major-league career. Minnesota would have landed an experienced late-inning reliever who had rediscovered his form after a brutal start to the year.
Everybody appeared to have a reason for making the trade.
Everybody except the guy who owns the team, apparently.
Sources: The Astros and Twins had agreed to a trade that would send Bryan Abreu to the Twins for Trevor Larnach. In the 11th hour, Astros owner Jim Crane nixed the trade. It is currently unclear if those talks will be revisited.
— Michael Marino (@MarinoMLB) August 1, 2026
The situation became even more awkward for Larnach because he did not learn about the proposed move from a Twins executive, his agent or a emotional phone call from somebody using the phrase “part of the business.”
He saw it on social media like the rest of us.
“It was a first for me, for sure,” Larnach said afterward. “It’s like what are you going to do? That’s really all I’ve got to say.”
That is an impressively restrained response from someone who woke up, checked his phone and discovered he had briefly become a Houston Astro before Jim Crane changed his mind.
Trevor Larnach Responded By Hitting Baseballs Very Far
Larnach entered the deadline having a career year, batting .286 with 10 home runs, 41 RBIs and an .832 OPS through his first 94 games.
His first response to the trade drama was to homer Saturday against the Seattle Mariners.
He then did it again on Sunday.
That is one way to handle discovering your employer tried to trade you. Some people angrily update their LinkedIn profiles. Larnach hit two balls over the fence and made everyone involved slightly more uncomfortable.
Twins manager Derek Shelton spoke with him before Saturday’s game and emphasized his importance to the roster. That is a necessary managerial conversation, but it also has the same energy as someone telling you how valuable you are immediately after listing your furniture on Facebook Marketplace.
Abreu’s situation is not much less strange.
The 29-year-old struggled badly during the opening weeks of the season and still carries a 4.54 ERA across 43 appearances. However, he has allowed only two earned runs over his last 15 outings while recording seven saves overall.
Houston’s front office was apparently willing to trade him. Crane was not. Abreu now gets to return to the bullpen knowing he has at least one extremely wealthy supporter in the building.
The failed exchange also made sense because both players are approaching important contractual crossroads. Abreu is eligible for free agency after the season, while Larnach has only one more year of arbitration control remaining.
Instead, the deadline passed with both players staying put. Houston eventually added Varsho, acquiring the left-handed outfielder from the Toronto Blue Jays for pitcher Spencer Arrighetti. Minnesota kept Larnach, who remained active on its roster after spending several days as one of the deadline’s strangest almost-trades.
Both teams found a way forward. That does not erase what happened.
Larnach knows the Twins were prepared to move him. Abreu knows Houston’s baseball operations department was willing to move him. Their teammates know. Their agents know. Every fan with an internet connection knows.
Baseball executives love repeating that the sport is a business. Unfortunately, sometimes the business transaction collapses and everyone involved still has to sit together at lunch the next day.