Astros offered Jose Altuve for Eric Hosmer in 2013 trade proposal, former Royals GM Dayton Moore says

Jose Altuve is one of the greatest Houston Astros ever and Eric Hosmer was a key contributor to the Kansas City Royals‘ most recent World Series title, and if former Astros GM Jeff Luhnow had gotten his way, none of that would have been possible.

During a recent appearance on the Diggin’ Deep Show, which is hosted by Hosmer and longtime big-league reliever Peter Moylan, former Royals GM Dayton Moore confirmed Luhnow called him and offered an Altuve-for-Hosmer trade in 2013. Fast-forward to the 1:26:00 mark for the good stuff:

“We were in Houston in ’13 and I get I call from Jeff Luhnow — I was sitting at the Starbucks Coffee — and he said, ‘I got a deal for ya,'” Moore said. “I said, ‘OK,’ and he said, ‘I’ll trade you Altuve for Eric Hosmer’ … I said, ‘Nope. Nope.’ I didn’t like trading major-league players.”

Hosmer jokingly called Moore “an idiot” for turning down the trade, which Moore reiterated was a real offer.

The Royals visited Houston from May 20-22 in 2013. That was Altuve’s third MLB season and he hit .286/.329/.388 in his first two years with the Astros. He was a low-impact singles hitter. It was not until 2014 that Altuve broke out as a star and as one of the game’s best hitters. Luhnow was ready to move on a few weeks before Altuve’s 24th birthday.

Hosmer, meanwhile, debuted in 2011 like Altuve and was a career .277/.332/.425 hitter through the 2012 season. He was regarded as one of the game’s best prospects a few years earlier, something Altuve never was, and they are more or less the same age. And again, like Altuve, the 2014 season was Hosmer’s breakout year, not that he reached the same heights as Altuve.

Kansas City won the pennant in 2014 and the World Series in 2015. Altuve helped Houston win the 2017 and 2022 World Series, and is likely to one day be voted into the Hall of Fame. Clearly, Altuve is the better player and has had the greater career, but I don’t think Moore and Royals regret turning the trade down. Flags fly forever and Hosmer helped the Royals win a title in 2015.

History is littered with potential franchise-altering trades that were turned down — the Mets offered a Single-A third baseman named David Wright to the Blue Jays for Jose Cruz Jr. in 2002, for example — and we can add Altuve-for-Hosmer to the pile. Hosmer was the more highly regarded young player at the time. Altuve has gone on to have the better career. Seeing how both teams went on to win a World Series not long after Luhnow’s offer, I reckon both are pleased with the outcome.