Climbing Tal's Hill
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Astros Hitting Needs as the Trade Deadline Approaches

By Eric Huysman

Jul 3, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; A view of the helmet and batting gloves of Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) before a game against the Chicago White Sox at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 3, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; A view of the helmet and batting gloves of Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) before a game against the Chicago White Sox at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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Trade for an infielder?

Jun 27, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Luis Valbuena (18) follows through on a swing for a double against the Los Angeles Angels during the sixth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 27, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Luis Valbuena (18) follows through on a swing for a double against the Los Angeles Angels during the sixth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports /

The Astros middle infield is one of the strongest between Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa, but the same can not be said for first and third base. With the recent solid play of Luis Valbuena at third base and Alex Bregman showing that he could be ready for the show soon, third base is not a need. As we talked about on Talking Stros last night, Valbuena is an underrated defender at third base with occasional pop. Unless you trade for Nolan Arenado or Evan Longoria, I don’t think there is much of an upgrade there.

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First base is a developing position with Marwin Gonzalez and A.J. Reed currently holding down the fort at the moment. Jeremy Booth of Program 15 doesn’t think that Reed is ready and that he was rushed up to the big leagues. He believes that if Reed is the answer, they should have let him master Triple-A more before bringing him up. One thing that Booth said also was that the Astros need him to be the answer.

The Astros will give Reed all the chances they can afford, but they have a few houses in-house including Gonzalez, Jon Singleton, or Matt Duffy. When, and if, the Astros bring up Bregman, Valbuena could be moved to first base.

First base 2016 slash line .233/ .302/ .413/ .715

Third base 2016 slash line .222/ .310/ .399/ .709

Prediction: I don’t think the Astros will upgrade here, but one potential player to trade for is A’s third baseman and Astros killer Danny Valencia, who has one more season of team control. Valencia is hitting .313 with 11 homers and 30 RBI’s on the season.

Next: Trade for an Outfielder?

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