4 catchers Astros should keep their eyes on by the trade deadline

Since the start of the truncated spring training, excuses have been lobbed in many directions regarding the slow start the Houston Astros had, especially including their history of slow starts.

Now that the month of April has passed and the Astros have a full month of play in May to evaluate, we can start to examine where the Astros need to add production. With just under two months until the trade deadline, trade talks will be ramping up in the next three or four weeks, and the Astros should be in the mix.

In addition, when Jake Meyers returns to the Astros, potentially around the last week or two of June, the Astros might want to pull the trigger on a move to free up a roster spot for Meyers by trading Jose Siri for more production at other positions.

Catcher is the easiest place to add production at a lower cost for the Astros as compared to other premium positions.

In 21 games in May, Martin Maldonado hit two home runs and drove in seven in 72 at-bats, hitting .147 with a .265 slugging percentage and an OPS of .448. In the same time frame, Yuli Gurriel played in 26 games and hit three home runs, droving in nine and slashing .214/.264/.357 with an OPS of .621.

Those aren’t the stats you would expect at a power position such as first base. Finally at center field, the Astros have struggled with Chas McCormick playing in 21 games and slashing .172/.254./.422, while hitting four home runs and driving in 10.

Comparatively, Jose Siri played in 17 games and slashed .218/.307/.364 with one home run and four RBI. If you add up all of that minimal production and include multiple days a week for one producing player, it spells disaster for the Astros’ offensive production.

The team needs to make a trade, and as MLB.com recently reported, the likely sellers at the deadline are the following teams — the Cincinnati Reds, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Baltimore Orioles, the Chicago Cubs, the Washington Nationals, and the Oakland Athletics.

The A’s aren’t likely trade partners being in the same division, so I will focus on the rest for options, and add a few teams I think are also potential sellers in the Miami Marlins and the Colorado Rockies.

Royals: MJ Melendez

Looking at similar trade bait, using Lee, Castro and Barreto to obtain MJ Melendez would be a definite plus. At 23, Melendez is also just starting out his career and is currently slashing .270/.330/.472 with an OPS at .802 while smashing four home runs and driving in nine in only 89 at-bats.

Melendez might be a more manageable option to trade, as I don’t see the Reds giving up Stephenson unless a team trades the farm for him. Simply put, the Astros could upgrade and find a longer-term solution at catcher for a potential longer-term solution in their farm system. I will take it now, as Melendez is quietly having a great rookie campaign at catcher.

Cubs: Willson Contreras

Easily the most battle tested and veteran option would be Contreras — who in his seventh season has shown consistent power and production. His stats would greatly aid the Astros down the stretch in terms of run production, as he is currently slashing .278/.401/.530 with nine home runs and 21 RBI this season so far.

Contreras’ downside, however, is that he is set to become a free agent in 2023, and so could become another two-month rental at a high cost to the already depleted Astros’ farm system. For that reason, I would prefer either of the younger options in Melendez or Stephenson.

Rockies: Brian Serven and CJ Cron

Adding players to both the catcher and first-base positions in a multi-player trade is not always easy but the Rockies might be the team to poach. Brian Serven is a younger prospect at catcher as well and only has 29 at-bats, but he has seen production with two home runs and seven RBI.

Serven is slashing .276/.323/.483, which I know is not very battle tested in his first year and only 10 games played to date, but sadly just the same, his stats in 29 at-bats are better than Maldonado’s stat. If you average it out to get to Maldonado’s 113 at-bats, Serven would easily pass him.

The better part of the deal in addition would be obtaining a savvy veteran in CJ Cron who is having a monster year so far with 14 homers and 40 RBI, slashing .298/.350/.561. The typical fears about bringing a Coors Field bat anywhere can be assuaged, however, as he has produced in prior seasons for other teams, such as the Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins where he hit 30 and 25 home runs per season respectively.

Cron also doesn’t become a free agent until 2024 so the Astros have time to see if he fits the team mold to either extend him or let him move on. The trade could also come at a cheaper cost, as the Astros could sent Siri, Castro and a player to be named later in exchange for the two Rockies.

Either way, production would increase, and I would love to see Cron take advantage of the Crawford Boxes, and his historic production in both the Los Angles Angels’ and the Seattle Mariners’ stadiums has been spectacular.