KC Royals: Looking back at the worst deadline deal in Royals history

Houston, led by a surging Beltran, defeated the favored Atlanta Braves in five games in the Divisional Series before losing in the pennant to the Cardinals. That series went the full seven games with the Cardinals winning the last two games at home.

For that series, Beltran went 10-for-24 with one double, four homers, five runs batted in with eight walks and four stolen bases. He slashed .417/.563/.958 for a 1.521 OPS. Those numbers were matched or topped by only one other player in that series: Albert Pujols.

And yet, despite the team’s success*, Beltran walked in free agency that offseason, signing a seven year, $119 million contract with the New York Mets, a deal he’d concluded as a member of the San Francisco Giants.

Total for the Astros in 2004, Beltran appeared in 90 games, slashed .258/.368/.559 for a 135 OPS+ to go with 70 runs scored, 23 home runs, 53 RBIs, and 28 stolen bases**. In the playoffs that season, he hit .435 while knocking out eight homers, driving in 14, stealing six bases, and scoring 21 runs.

*The following year, without Beltran, Houston again won the Wild Card, again defeated the Braves in the NLDS, but this time defeated the Cardinals in the NLCS before getting swept in the World Series by the Chicago White Sox.

**On the year, he finished two home runs shy of the 40-40 club.