Astros could turn to Rockies star at trade deadline in wake of Isaac Paredes injury

Conventional wisdom up until now was that the Houston Astros were going to attempt to land an impact starting pitcher or a left-handed hitting infielder at the trade deadline, but probably not both. Houston's needs were relatively well defined, but neither option felt so damning to warrant prioritization over the other. However, the latest injury update on Isaac Paredes may change the front office's decision-making a bit, and bring a new trade target into focus.

There is no denying that the Astros' growing list of injured players has has impacted Houston's on-field performance. Paredes, Jeremy Peña, and Jake Meyers, have all been the Astros' best offensive players in this season and all of them are injured. The list doesn't even include Yordan Alvarez, who's dealing with an ongoing hand injury. Pitching depth would be nice, but Houston needs a lefty bat at the deadline especially with some starters scheduled to return from the IL soon.

Manager Joe Espada called Pardes' hamstring injury "pretty significant", and one name that could now factor into the Astros' trade deadline thinking is Colorado Rockies star Ryan McMahon.

Astros should target Rockies' 3B Ryan McMahon at the MLB trade deadline after Isaac Paredes' injury

Houston desperately needs another left-handed bat especially with Alvarez out. Now that third base is an option, adding McMahon has some merit. He's a tremendous defender which could give the Astros one of the better defensive left sides of the infield in baseball when Peña returns. McMahon also hits for power from the left side which is something the Astros sorely lack.

That said, McMahon isn't exactly a perfect fit. Not only would he come with multiple years of control which could create roster problems and jack up his price tag in a trade, but McMahon's ability to make contact consistently and avoid strikeouts is very suspect. With the Astros already making the move to promote Brice Matthews, replacing Paredes may not be the move especially once Peña is healthy.

It's fun to think about the field of potential trade targets opening up even if it is, at best, the silver lining of the brutal injury news on Paredes. Instead of hoping to land one of a couple bats that could fit their narrow needs, the Astros have some room to be creative now.

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