Astros insider pitches pair of trades to fix Houston's lineup balance problem

One thing is becoming abundantly clear — the lack of left-handed bats in the Houston Astros' lineup is a real problem. Houston has known this was a problem going all the way back to the offseason after the team traded away Kyle Tucker and have been actively looking in earnest ever since. To date. GM Dana Brown and the Astros' front office have been unsuccessful in their search. The Houston Chronicle's Michael Shapiro recently floated a couple of reasonable trade targets that could be exactly what the Astros are looking for.

Assuming Yordan Alvarez's injury is indeed short-term, Houston doesn't need a star-level left-handed bat to balance out the lineup. Just a bat that can keep opposing managers honest when making bullpen decisions while also to providing a check against tough righty starters would be enough. Shapiro seems to agree, and proposed that the Astros should trade for Colorado Rockies' infielder Ryan McMahon and/or Minnesota Twins' utility player Kody Clemens

Ryan McMahon and Kody Clemens identified as trade fits for the Astros in 2025

This is definitely the right idea, and two names that Brown should be focused on, but neither McMahon nor Clemens are exactly perfect. McMahon is a great defender, would help the Astros rid themselves of Brendan Rodgers, and plays for the Rockies who will almost certainly sell at the deadline. McMahon, however, doesn't really hit even at the hitter's paradise known as Coors Field. McMahon has some power which helps, but when hitting .250 is an accomplishment, that isn't ideal.

As for Clemens, he seems more like a bench bat that would be in the mold of Mauricio Dubon, but with more power and less defensive ability. He is hitting right now, which is great, but the Twins are also playing well. It seems unlikely that Minnesota would be willing to move any productive pieces that still have team control remaining while they're in contention.

This whole situation could have been avoided if top prospect Jacob Melton had pushed for a big league opportunity this year. Unfortunately, injury issues combined with some regression to start the season probably means that Houston is going to have to look at external options if they want some offense from the left side of the plate.

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