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

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.