The 2015 Houston Astros were doing something they hadn’t done in years — compete for the playoffs. The young team, complemented by some key veterans, arrived a little ahead of schedule, but GM Jeff Luhnow decided to go for it anyway. One of those moves was to acquire pitcher Scott Kazmir from Oakland.
On July 23, the Astros acquired Kazmir in exchange for pitcher Daniel Mengden and catcher Jacob Nottingham. One week later, the team would make another big splash by acquiring Carlos Gomez, but we all know how that worked out.