Houston Astros Predicted to Acquire a Star First Baseman During Trade Deadline
The Houston Astros were predicted to make a massive move during the trade deadline.
With the trade deadline coming up, Dana Brown and the Houston Astros will have to make some tough choices over the course of the next week.
The Astros have significantly turned things around after a difficult start to the season, positioning themselves to win the division and potentially another World Series.
Even though they have played better over the last two months, this club still has room for improvement. Above all, Houston ought to be a contender to acquire one or more starting pitchers. It might go a long way even if they only get two arms who could be useful and devour innings during the regular season.
Their playoff lineup may already be decided, but because several of their top five players are sidelined, it’s advisable to be prudent and provide them with backup throwers as needed. In addition to that requirement, there have been several whispers that they are interested in a first baseman.
Since Jose Abre
was released, they haven’t been able to find the ideal replacement, but there’s a potential that some respectable ones will become available before the deadline.
In recent months, Pete Alonso and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have been associated with the Astros. It’s unclear, though, if either will be traded. The Toronto Blue Jays are under no obligation to deal their young slugger, as Alonso is a member of a New York Mets team that is competitive and could make the postseason.
That didn’t stop Chandler Rome of The Athletic from predicting that the team would land a star first baseman at the deadline.
“Astros owner Jim Crane covets superstars. He has engineered two deadline trades for Justin Verlander and he gave the final push to acquire Zack Greinke in 2019. Houston does not have the prospect capital to pull off another blockbuster.
“With Crane involved, it sometimes doesn’t matter. The Astros should be prioritizing pitching, but if Crane wants Pete Alonso or Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to fix his mistake of signing José Abreu, general manager Dana Brown may have to make it happen.”
If they walked out of the deadline with Guerrero or Alonso, it’d likely be viewed as the biggest deal around baseball. Not only would they be the biggest names dealt, but the fact that they’d land with a team like Houston would make it an even bigger deal.
They can’t go wrong with either player, as both of them have arguments to be the top power-hitting first basemen in baseball. Time will only tell if Brown has it in him to land one of them.
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