3 trade rumors Astros fans hope come true, 3 they don't

The Houston Astros enter the weekend in a familiar spot: the middle. They were 52-54 as of Sunday, two games out in the AL West and two games back in the Wild Card. The record isn’t that of a team looking to buy. The distance from a playoff spot is. And according to Buster Olney, they’re charging ahead, not waving the white flag. But the rumor mill is all over the place. 

Some rumors out there would make the fanbase giddy. Some show a front office that might be quietly hedging their bets. Houston fans have burned by that before, which makes the idea of watching a contending roster get picked apart so hard to swallow, especially while they’re still insisting they’re trying to win.

3 trade rumors Astros fans hope come true

A frontline starter lands in Houston. 

The Lance McCullers Jr. trade was about far more than ridding themselves of a player. It dropped Houston to about $10 million below the first luxury tax threshold. It also turned an obvious need into an obvious shopping list. The dream, as is true of all contenders, is Tarik Skubal, but who knows if Detroit is going to be trading with their surge back to contention? Robbie Ray, though, and his 3.16 ERA, is the sort of realistic upgrade that fans would take in a heartbeat. 

Daulton Varsho becomes the left-handed bat.

It is no secret that the Astros are searching for lefty thump against right-handed pitching. They’ve talked about that deficiency all season, and Toronto’s collapse to the bottom of the AL East means the Blue Jays are likely shopping exactly that. Varsho is a lefty who plays excellent defense and could slot into either center or a corner outfield spot without sacrificing anything out there. It’s the cleanest fit on the board, so that makes it the least likely to happen, but you never know. 

Bryan Abreu gets moved before he walks for nothing. 

Nobody needs a reminder of how poor Abreu has been this year, in a contract year. He’s someone the Astros probably can’t afford to hang onto beyond the deadline. Cashing him now for anything, rather than watching him leave in free agency for nothing, is the kind of unsentimental move fans would love even if they miss the player he once was.

3 Astros trade rumors fans hope aren't true

Jeremy Peña and Isaac Paredes get dangled as sellers' bait. 

Olney reports that rival executives believe Houston could “crush it” if they shop their right-handed infield duo. But that’s a nightmare scenario for the fans who have watched this team all year. While the Astros do insist they’re buying, the playoff odds on all different sites indicate that may be the wrong choice. If things go sideways over the next week, they could be talked into listening on Peña and Paredes, and maybe there’s even a deal they would find. 

Josh Hader gets shipped out mid-race. 

With the Red Sox winning every game for more than half the month, that made Hader’s name come up as a dominant lefty closer who could impact a playoff race (and others since he’s under contract through 2028. Insiders still consider this deal unlikely, but it’s possible that they can be talked into it. Trading Hader now might look smart on a spreadsheet, but could look quite bad if they’re still in the race in September and blow a tight game that ultimately ends their chase.

Prospect capital gets burned on a lesser outfielder. 

There is a world where buying can turn ugly. Zach Cole and Caden Powell pop up often as trade chips the Astros could include to get a deal done. The fear is that they’ll be attached to a modest rental instead of a legitimate difference-maker. Paying real prospect capital for a placeholder bat is the outcome nobody should be excited about, especially with the farm system in a less-than-ideal spot.

How much of the smoke is fire? We won't know that for a few days. For Houston, the difference between these two lists is the difference between adding and a team second-guessing. Which way they go will be clearer soon.

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