Astros rumors have Houston circling former Angels slugger after underwhelming trade deadline

By now, we all know Dana Brown’s checklist heading into the deadline. He wanted a lefty bat, a starter, and a right-handed reliever. He got one of the three, and traded a starter away in the process to get Daulton Varsho from Toronto. 

So Houston now enters the stretch run with a rotation that is arguably shakier than it was a week ago and a lineup that is still searching for answers against lefties. That means they’ve been on the hunt for a right-handed bat as well, and that hasn’t gone super well. They’ve already missed out on the best fit of a trio of possibilities, but might be zeroing in on the next best.

Houston Astros whiffed on Austin Hays, and he made them pay for it

Austin Hays was the best target of the bunch. While he hadn’t had a good year for the White Sox, he does have a track record. He’s a career .283/.340/.481 hitter against lefties (and is okay enough against righties too at .253/.300/.414). He can actually play the outfield. But instead, he went to the Padres, and in his first at bat for them, he hit a pinch-hit, two-run home run against the Houston Astros. So they missed and paid immediately.

More names might emerge on the board, but right now, there are two less attractive fits. The biggest one is Jorge Soler, who the Angels cut loose after a second consecutive disappointing season with them. He hit just .203/.291/.373 and struck out way too much. But he does have power. That can’t be denied. He’s hit as many as 48 in a season, back in 2019 with the Kansas City Royals. He hit 27 in 2021, 36 in 2023, and even had 21 as recently as 2024. He hit 12 last year and has 12 this year. It’s easy to remember him torturing the Astros in the 2021 World Series and he has a history of handling lefties (though he hasn’t this year).

But there’s always a catch. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be available just to sign for nothing. He’s a DH. He’s played all of 67 innings in the outfield this season after playing 315.2 last year and just 326 the year before. He was never a good outfielder, but as he’s reached his mid-30s, the outfield ship seems to have fully sailed. The Astros currently have a pretty decent DH in Yrodan Alvarez, so that does pose a bit of a problem.

Maybe they do want to get creative and make sure Alvarez stays healthy to give him a day here or there. Maybe Soler could be solely a bat off the bench or maybe they feel comfortable with him in a small left field with good defense in center coming from Varsho and Jake Meyers. The point is that it sounds better in the rumor mill than in actual practice.

The other option right now is Rob Refsnyder, who signed a one-year deal with the Mariners over the winter to be a lefty masher. He hit .140 for Seattle and just .147/.222/.284 against lefties. The track record suggests that’s a blip, as he’s a career .265/.364/.423 hitter against southpaws, but you never know if maybe Father Time has just come for him. But if Houston’s looking for a low-cost flier, he does fit. He’s a bigger gamble than Hays, but, again, Hays is no longer an option.

None of this addresses the pitching issues, which should bother fans more than the outfield search does. The Astros simply haven’t gotten enough from their outfield against lefties. That’s a production hole that either Soler or Refsnyder could help patch. The bullpen is still missing a true shutdown right-hander, and that also doesn’t get fixed with a bat off the scrap heap, but that still doesn’t mean it’s not something the team could use. 

As of Monday morning, the Astros are still hanging on to the lead in the AL West. It’s by the tiniest of margins, but it still exists, which means they have a little time for patience. But losing out on the best available fix, then watching him hit a bomb off your own pitching staff days later isn’t ideal. Soler would be a fun story if it happens. He still wouldn’t be the fix Hays would have been, but it could certainly work. 

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