Why a Juan Soto Trade Makes Sense For the Astros

Juan Soto would make the Astros dangerous one through eight in the lineup.

Imagine this lineup in the postseason:

1. Jose Altuve 2B
2. Michael Brantley LF
3. Alex Bregman 3B
4. Yordan Alvarez DH
5. Kyle Tucker CF
6. Yuli Gurriel 1B
7. Juan Soto RF
8. Jeremy Pena SS
9. Martin Maldonado

Make the lineup however you want, and it’s hard to imagine this lineup not being unstoppable in both the regular and post season.

Soto would be most likely moved up in the lineup considering his ability to get on-base.  He led all of the Majors in walks and on-base percentage — 145 and .465 respectively — last season on his way to finishing second in MVP voting with a Silver Slugger award for a team that didn’t even sniff the playoffs.

What could he do if he had protection in the lineup when teams can’t pitch around him?

And considering he’s not a rental that means the Astros would have the following players locked in through 2025 — Altuve, Bregman, Tucker, Alvarez and Peña. That’s three years of those six guaranteed to be in your lineup and other than Altuve and Bregman none are so far making $20 million or more.

It solidifies the Astros offense for the foreseeable future, which leads us to the next point.