3 Astros entering their final month with the team as trade deadline nears

The Houston Astros are no stranger to making a mid-season splash. In 2017, they acquired Justin Verlander at the end of August thanks to the waiver wire trade deadline. Two years later, they swung a deal with the Diamondbacks to grab Zack Greinke. And two years ago, they acquired Verlander again. 

While the Astros have a seven game lead in the American League West, they seem poised to make another big deal at this year’s deadline to fill some holes on their roster. Here are three players who could end up finishing the year elsewhere thanks to that trade deadline roster crunch.

3 Astros entering their final month with the team as trade deadline nears

2B Brendan Rodgers

If the Astros have one clear need on this team, it’s an impact left-handed hitter, as Astros left-handed hitters entered Thursday hitting just .199 on the season. That need could lead to Houston targeting an impact left-handed bat at the deadline, which could make Rodgers expendable.  

The Astros signed Rodgers to a one-year, $2 million deal in the hopes that he could find the magic he had during his peak with the Rockies in 2021 and ‘22, but that hasn’t been the case so far, as he hit just .199 this year in 43 games before going on the injured list in the middle of June. 

There are plenty of left-handed or switch-hitting infielders who could be available at this year’s deadline, which could bring about an end to Rodgers’ time with the Astros. They could also elect to nab an impact infielder and move Jose Altuve back to second base. 

But regardless of what they do, it sure seems like Rodger is on borrowed time. 

INF Luis Guillorme

We put Guillorme here for the sake of this exercise, but this could also apply to Zack Short and/or whatever other bench infield options the Astros elect to roll with off the bench. 

While this archetype of player might be on the roster for most of July due to injuries to Jeremy Peña and Zach Dezenzo, the Astros are likely going to use the deadline to revamp their infield picture, which could result a new crop of middle infield options staking their claim to a roster spot. Couple that with Peña and Dezenzo returning from injuries around the same time, and all of a sudden you’ve got a new look bench. 

The good news is that Guillorme and Short should survive waivers, which means they could stay with the team as depth options if/when injuries pop up again. 

OF Jacob Melton

Stop us if you’ve heard this before: the Astros could dip into their outfield depth to facilitate a big trade. They did so in 2019 when they traded Seth Beer and Josh Rojas to Arizona and they did it again in 2023 when they traded Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford to the Mets for Verlander. 

Could Melton be this year’s victim? 

Melton is currently ranked as the team’s No. 2 prospect per MLB Pipeline, and hit .241 with six RBI in 11 games with the Astros before going on the injured list in the middle of June with a right ankle sprain. He’s not expected back until the end of July, but that may not stop teams from asking for him in talks at the deadline. 

The Astros’ offensive picture is a little jumbled right now thanks to Yordan Álvarez’s hand injury, but that likely won’t stop Houston from making Melton available — especially if it’s for a top-tier free agent. 

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