4 players facing their last chance with Astros heading out of the All-Star break

Despite all of the fears coming out of the offseason, the Houston Astros are in pretty great shape ahead of the trade deadline. They certainly have a couple of items on their trade deadline shopping list (left-handed bat, pitching depth), but the roster is mostly set, and it is the group that carried the Astros to a five-game lead in the AL West entering the second half.

However, there are a select few players on Houston's roster who have something to play for over the next couple of weeks. If they falter or get overtaken by others, the odds that they could find themselves without a big league roster spot are quite high.

Here are the Astros players who could be running out of time ahead of the trade deadline

The goal here isn't necessarily to find guys that could be traded from the roster. For most of those guys, how well they play over the next couple of weeks isn't going to change anything. Instead, this is a look at the Astros players that actually could change their fortunes depending on how well they play up until the trade deadline.

Taylor Trammell

Trammell is only in the big leagues right now because Jake Meyers, Zach Dezenzo, Chas McCormick AND Jacob Melton are hurt which...is not a glowing endorsement of his chances long term. However, if Trammell shows something over the next couple of weeks, the odds that Houston continues to carry him as a backup outfielder go up exponentially, especially given how McCormick was playing before his injury.

Cooper Hummell

Hummell also finds his spot pretty tenuous at the moment for many of the same reasons as Trammell, as he is only around because of all the injuries in the outfield right now. Compounding the problem is that the Astros just called up Kenedy Corona, and Houston would love nothing more than to give him a chance, given how long Corona has been occupying a 40-man roster spot.

Hector Neris

It may seem weird to put Neris on this list given that the Astros only just brought him back. However, Neris has already flamed out with the Braves and Angels this season, and Houston is in a position where they don't have to carry Neris if he isn't performing. Of all the roster spots that are potentially up for grabs, Neris' may be the most in peril from a trade deadline move because if the Astros add a reliever, they are going to take someone's spot.

Kaleb Ort

The other reliever whose job is in real jeopardy is Kaleb Ort. Of the 27 pitchers (starters or relievers) who have thrown for the Astros this season, Ort ranks dead last in fWAR at -0.2. Ort was good enough last year to potentially get a longer leash than he maybe should, but he was pretty bad the two seasons before that, and it may just be time for Houston to cut him loose if he doesn't show something over the next couple of weeks.