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Houston Astros Rumors: Do the Stros need Justin Upton?

By Eric Huysman

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Do the Astros need Justin Upton

Jul 17, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres left fielder Justin Upton (10) watches the flight of his eighth inning home run against the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

At the beginning of the season, the last player on the planet I thought that could be traded to the Astros was Justin Upton. He was traded to the busy San Diego Padres as part of a busy offseason for A.J. Preller. Many people felt like the Padres were ready to win big with the additions of  Upton, James Shields, Wil Myers, Matt Kemp, and Craig Kimbrel. However, the Yankee like offseason did not pay off for the Padres; they are looking to start over.

The above tweet has linked almost every available Padre player to the Houston Astros. Upton is the latest, with Yonder Alonso, Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner, Shields, and Kimbrel. Part of the joys of being a buyer at the trade deadline that is everyone is looking to get your prospects, especially the Astros with how deep their system is. Should the Astros go get Upton, let’s take a look at the current outfielders.

Rasmus: Slash-line .234/ .305/ .464/ .769 with 12 homers and 31 RBI.

Marisnick: Slash-line .234/ .272/ .368/ .641 with 5 homers and 21 RBI (11 steals).

Tucker: Slash-line .259/ .320/ .434/ .754 with 6 homers and 23 RBI.

As you can see, Marisnick is not good on the offensive side, despite the early success in April. He is an elite defender but struggles to get on-base. Would Upton be an offensive upgrade over any of these guys?

Upton: Slash-line .252/ .331/ .426/ .757 with 15 homers and 49 RBI (17 steals).

While Upton’s slash line is not that much better than the current outfielders, his power and speed combination could add to what the Astros like to do.

So if the Astros were to work out a trade for Upton, where would he fit into the mix. The question is if Tucker would be involved in the trade? If not, he could play right field as he has before, Rasmus in centerfield, and Tucker would play left field. When Springer returns, it will cut into Tucker’s and Rasmus’ playing time.

It would be interesting to see what the Astros would trade to get Upton, but Marisnick or Tucker could be involved. Domingo Santana could be involved as well, but after initially thinking we didn’t need Upton, I have changed my mind a little. Even though I dislike the name Carlos Beltran, this is the kind of offensive output Upton can bring to the Astros in 2015. I wouldn’t be opposed to this move.

Next: Astros Rumors: Does Luhnow have to trade Appel and Phillips?

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