Guardians acquire Myles Straw from Astros for Phil Maton

Mere minutes before the trade deadline, the Cleveland Guardians have completed a deal with the Houston Astros that will bring outfielder Myles Straw to Cleveland and send Phil Maton and catching prospect Yainer Diaz to Houston.

Straw, 26, in his fourth year with the Astros and slashing .262/.339/.326 on the season (93 wRC+) and two home runs in 98 games. The former 12th round pick has a career .256/.334/.324 slash with Houston, with the occasional ability to draw walks but zero power to speak of.

Straw can hit a ball anywhere and hardly swings and misses but his hard-hit rate ranks in the 1st percentile, meaning 99% of players hit the ball harder than he does, on average. His ability to make contact and avoid swings and misses, however, are elite across the board. In 2021, he ranks in the 95th percentile in chase rate and 98th percentile in whiff rate.

In exchange for Straw's services, the Guardians will send reliever Phil Maton — who has never been able to quite live up to his lofty peripherals — and 22-year-old catching prospect Yainer Diaz. Maton has a 4.57 ERA with Cleveland this season and Diaz has a 123 wRC+ in Single-A.