Astros should give Rockies call at the trade deadline to address need for lefty outfielder

One has to wonder if the Houston Astros are ever going to find a left-handed hitting outfielder worth his salt. The club tried to fill the void last trade deadline with Jesus Sanchez, and it failed miserably. They swapped Sanchez out over the offseason to reacquire Joey Loperfido in another move that failed, as Loperfido now toils down in Sugar Land. Taylor Trammell isn't an answer either, and LaMonte Wade hasn't been here long, but the red flags are already showing with a 32.4% strikeout rate through his first 10 games.

Houston doesn't have much in the way of prospect capital to work with to find an upgrade, nor do they have much money to spend if it is to avoid crossing into the luxury tax. The Lance McCullers Jr. trade created some breathing room in the payroll, but not as much as you might expect. Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports that the Astros are only saving $2.5 million.

Without much ammo, the Astros' options are limited, and the market is light on impact outfield bats (of either handedness) to begin with. The best option might be Jung Hoo Lee of the San Francisco Giants, who is a contact-oriented bat and entered the All-Star break with a .302/.333/.429 line. That sounds great, but the issue is that Lee is owed $21 million per season for three more years, which is well outside of Houston's budget.

Astros' best option to solve their left-handed-hitting outfielder problem is Mickey Moniak, despite his flaws

Finding an affordable solution with upside is paramount, and by those parameters, Rockies outfielder Mickey Moniak is the best option. Moniak has a pedigree as the first overall pick of the 2016 draft. He also has the chops to play a passable center field, which is important in the wake of Jake Meyers' demotion.

Moniak is under team control for another year beyond this year, and makes just $4 million this season, meaning he'll add chump change to the Astros' books for the final two months of the season.

On the surface, Moniak should be a plus offensively. The 28-year-old is hitting .278/.326/.574 with 15 homers over 62 games this season. In 2025, he slashed .270/.306/.518 with 24 dingers in 135 contests last season. Both years have come with him playing his home games in Coors Field in Denver, Colorado's mile-high altitude. That matters.

In 2026, he's hitting .231/.283/.385 outside of Denver, which is pretty frightening. 2025 saw a similar performance, with Moniak slashing .230/.255/.425 on the road. Prior to that, during his time in Philadelphia, and, for the most part, Anaheim, Moniak has a .230/.272/.402 career line, including both home and away games.

Point being, Moniak is a pretty scary proposition outside of Coors Field. With that said, he hits left-handed, and he has some pop. If he can channel some of what made him a first-overall pick, he could be in business. The reasonable hope, should the Astros acquire him, would be something like his 2023 campaign, when he hit .280/.307/.495 with 14 long balls over 85 games.

The biggest issue for Moniak is that he swings and misses too often and doesn't walk enough, but he has power and is athletic. He could be a solid pick-up if he fixes the holes in his swing, and frankly, at the price the Astros can afford, there might be nothing better.

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