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3 Houston Astros roster holes that need to be addressed by the trade deadline
At 36-27, the Houston Astros and their fans don't have too much to be unhappy about through the first few months of the 2023 regular season. While the division rival Texas Rangers are on a ridiculously hot streak, there's no reason the Astros should be upset with second place.
Through and through, this team has been firing on all cylinders this season. On offense, most of the returning members of the everyday lineup have picked up where they left off last season. This includes Jeremy Peña, Yordan Alvarez, Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker, who all are hitting above .250 with at least eight home runs each.
On the mound, the starting pitchers have been electric. For the majority of the year so far, each of Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr. and José Urquidy have been injured, so it's been up to Framber Vladez, Cristian Javier, Hunter Brown and any warm body who knows how to pitch. Recently, it's been Brandon Bielak and Ronel Blanco stepping up and both have been turning in respectable performances. While it's been nice to see some of the youngsters step up, perhaps there is room for another starter to be brought aboard in the form of an outside addition.
Entering the day, the Astros possess the second best run differential in the American League at +60, trailing only the Rangers who are somehow at +154. Despite the fact that they trail Texas, don't think for a second that the club is out of it just yet. The general consencus around the league is that the Rangers are legit but also over-performing a bit, so patience will be key for the Astros as we all know their time is coming.
While things have been going smoothly for the club, things have not been perfect. As a matter of fact, there are a few roster holes that they will need to address in the coming month or so as we near the 2023 trade deadline.
Let's check out 3 Houston Astros roster holes that need to be addressed by the trade deadline.
The Astros need to address their bullpen at the trade deadline.
For the most part, this Astros bullpen has been money. Each of Ryan Pressly, Bryan Abreu, Hector Neris and Phil Maton have been great, with the latter three all posting ERA's starting with 1 so far. Pressly has been a steady presence at the back end as well, though, notching 11 saves with 27 strikeouts in 24 innings already.
But then there are the Rafael Monteros, Ryne Staneks and Seth Martinezs of the world. Each of this trio has been subpar, with Montero easily being the least productive reliever, posting a 6.20 ERA in 24.2 innings of work. Surely there is some work to be done here, so why not go out and try and shore up a relief pitching corps that's oh so close to being dominant?
Looking around the league, there is perhaps no better fit for the Astros than the Kansas City Royals, who are one of the worst teams in the game this season. At 18-44, the Royals are nowhere close to contention and are reportedly dangling some of their tradeable assets already in potential deals. This includes both Scott Barlow and Aroldis Chapman, who are the two most notable relievers on their current active roster.
Barlow, a right-hander, is the younger of the two (30) and is not set to become a free agent until after next season, which only furthers his value. He has been a reliable presence in the Royals' pen since he broke into the league back in 2018, functioning as both an oft-used middle reliever and a closer. To kick off the current season, he has a 3.52 ERA, 2.98 FIP and 126 ERA+ through 22 appearances and 23 innings pitched. His experience in high-leverage situations should definitely interest the Astros.
Chapman complicates things a bit, but only because of his checkered past both on the field and off of it. The Royals are reportedly wanting to pair the two of these hurlers in one deal as a form of both shedding salary and improving the return in a possible deal.
Chapman, 35, once seemed to be on his way to a Hall of Fame-caliber career, but he's fallen off a bit recently and that seems to be a thing of the past now. A free agent at season's end, the left-hander has made 23 appearances for the Royals this year and has a sparkling 2.95 ERA, 1.97 FIP and 151 ERA+. He seems to have regained some of the mojo he's lost in recent years, so trading him now is certainly the smartest move for the Royals.
Adding these two hurlers would not necessarily gut the Astros' farm system and it would absolutely strengthen their bullpen. This feels like the way to go if the club determines this is a spot they could upgrade their roster.
Adding one more starting pitcher would be a huge help for the Astros.
With the amount of injuries that have accumulated in the Astros' starting rotation, they are apparently in the market for one more starter. In fact, rumor has it that they're aiming high and going for one of the top available starters in the league.
Scoring Shane Bieber in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians would be a huge get for the Astros. However, it would also be an expensive one. But as baseball fans we all know that you have to give talent to get talent in trade deadline deals, so perhaps this would be worth it for Houston?
Bieber, 28, is still arb eligible and is not even able to become a free agent until the conclusion of next season which, again, makes his value shoot upwards. You know what you're getting with him, though, so additional control over one of the best starters in the league is a major win for an acquiring club.
So far this year, the right-hander is 4-3 through 13 outings and 80.2 innings, posting a 3.57 ERA and 115 ERA+. His strikeout numbers have dipped quite a bit (6.1 SO/9 compared to 8.9 last year and 12.5 the year before), but he continues to be one of the premier talents in the AL. Even though some of his numbers have dropped a bit since last year, Bieber remains one of the top pitchers around and he is most definitely the best available starter in this year's trade market.
The Astros should look to bring aboard a power bat.
In Michael Schwab's previous tweet about Bieber, he also said that the Astros have Miami Marlins DH/OF Jorge Soler atop their trade deadline wish list.
The Astros are currently below league-average in terms of how many total home runs their hitters are coming up with. Per Baseball Reference, "average" is 70 home runs and Houston's at 69. It's a close margin, but it still counts.
That the club is interested in acquiring Soler's services makes way too much sense on paper. With José Abreu and his sudden lack of power, there's a significant amount of pop missing from the everyday starting nine. Sure, there are some other players in the lineup that make up for it, but bringing a prolific power hitter like Soler aboard would do wonders for this team.
The 31-year-old is set to become a free agent at the end of the season but his contract does have a team option attached to it. In 59 games for the Marlins this season, he has 17 home runs and 36 RBI already, posting an .850 OPS and 129 OPS+, which are numbers he hasn't put up in a full season of games since back in 2019 when he hit 48 home runs with the Royals.
The only caveat to bringing Soler in is the fact that he can't play defense. He is a corner outfielder by trade but has had negative dWAR (Defensive Runs Above Replacement) in every single season he's been around the league, which would be 10 years. With Yordan Alvarez entrenched as the Astros' everyday designated hitter, at-bats may become hard to come by for the two sluggers.