4 difficult roster decisions the Houston Astros must address ASAP

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We are entering the midway point of the 2023 season and the Houston Astros find themselves needing to make up some ground in the AL West. They are currently 5.5 games back of the division leading Texas Rangers and a half game back of a wild card spot with a roster that has some serious questions.

Sure, there are some things that have been outside of their control. Yordan Alvarez hurting his oblique has really put a damper on the offense and the Rangers have just been playing out of their minds this season so far. Assuming that Alvarez is able to return relatively quickly, these are the sorts of things that sort themselves out over the course of a long season.

However, there are still some real questions this team has to sort out and soon. The Astros have lost seven out of their last 10 games and while their run differential currently sits at a healthy +41 in 2023 which is one of the better marks in the American League, Houston has some issues on both sides of the ball they need to sort out if they want to make a run in the second half.

The Astros have some difficult roster questions they need to address ASAP

To be clear, if the Astros don't fix all of their issues, they will still be fielding a very good baseball team that should still be a playoff contender. This is a roster that has loads of talent and the experience of making multiple deep playoff runs. Most teams are going to have flaws, even the really good ones.

All of that said, if the Astros want a realistic chance of repeating as World Series champs this season, these are the major roster decisions that they need to make and soon.

The Astros' rotation needs some real help and soon

The Astros' rotation is arguably the most important thing they need to sort out sooner rather than later. So far, Houston has been able to make things work in 2023 as they currently rank sixth in fWAR in all of baseball thanks to stellar work from Framber Valdez this season and strong first half performances from Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier have helped the cause.

However, the depth here is concerning. Lance McCullers Jr. is out the rest of the season after having flexor tendon surgery and Luis Garcia underwent Tommy John surgery which is going to keep him out until sometime in 2024. Jose Urquidy has also been out for a while as well as he has been dealing with shoulder inflammation, but it does at least seem like he could return sometime in July. These were all guys that Houston was relying on to give them meaningful innings in 2023 and now the Astros have some innings to cover.

A look at Houston's minor league system doesn't yield a lot of answers to this problem. Double-A is where their best options are as Spencer Arrighetti has the sort of swing and miss stuff you would love to see, but the lack of a viable offspeed pitch at the moment combined with a spotty track record of command is a bit concerning. Colton Gordon has also put together a nice season thus far in Double-A and does not have Arrighetti's command questions, although his stuff doesn't jump off the page.

This brings us to the trade market and Houston has some real options here. Lucas Giolito is a pending free agent and the White Sox are currently 11 games below .500, so he should be a viable trade option. The Tigers' Eduardo Rodriguez is another guy who could be a fun option as well assuming he gets healthy here quickly and Detroit actually decides to sell. If Houston wants to make a deal for a guy with team control beyond this season, Dylan Cease could be a good choice, although acquiring him could be costly.

If Urquidy can come back healthy and be the guy we have seen in the past, that would be a big help here. However, the Astros could use another rotation arm even if they have a ton of confidence that he will be back soon.

Houston needs to add a power outfield bat

It is really weird to see the Astros' struggle as much as they have when it comes to hitting for power, but here we are. Despite having a roster that is full of guys that have consistently hit the ball hard in the past, Houston finds themselves with a middling offense with a team slugging percentage of just .402 in 2023.

Some of this is good ol' fashioned underperformance as Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve, and especially Jose Abreu are all slugging below their career norms. It also has really hurt not having Yordan in the lineup as he is Houston's best power hitter by a mile. If some of these guys could get going and Alvarez can get healthy soon, that would be a huge plus.

Finding places to realistically upgrade in the power department for Houston is a bit tricky, though. Yordan is a mortal lock for most DH plate appearances once he returns and it is unlikely that the Astros are going to cut bait with Abreu so soon given their financial commitment to him. That leaves the infield minus catcher (more on that in a bit) as pretty set.

The outfield is pretty much all that is left as an option and while Kyle Tucker isn't going anywhere, the other two outfield spots seem to be the best bets for getting some more power in the lineup. Chas McCormick has played well enough to get some playing time especially with his ability to play center field, but an upgrade for that last spot seems like our best bet here.

The Astros' farm system has some outfielders to be sure, but most of them aren't particularly close to being ready to join a big league team that has playoff aspirations. Justin Dirden is an intriguing bat down in Triple-A especially if Houston wants another lefty that mashes righties, but if Houston wants an immediate power upgrade they are probably going to need to look outside the organization.

The trade market for outfielders that hit for power that are also expected to be available isn't particularly robust, unfortunately. Adam Duvall stands out as a guy who is going to be a free agent after this season on a Boston team that looks to have a difficult path to playoff contention this year. Michael Conforto would be a nice option if the Giants decide to sell at the trade deadline, but San Francisco has been playing quite well lately and don't seem to be likely sellers. If Houston wants a guy that has some team control, they could do worse than Lane Thomas as the Nationals are pretty terrible and he has two more years of control after this season.

The backend of the Astros' bullpen needs some work

Now we are getting to an area that basically every team in the league could use and that is bullpen depth. Again, the Houston bullpen has been very good this year as they have a collective 3.70 ERA and 3.69 FIP in 2023, so this isn't an emergency situation whatsoever. Phil Maton, Hector Neris, Bryan Abreu, and Ryan Pressley have formed into a very able core of relievers that most teams would love to have.

However, the last couple of slots in the bullpen could be improved a bit as Rafael Montero has been getting torched lately and Seth Martinez also leaves something to be desired in the consistency department. Is having a bullpen full of elite relief guys a reasonable expectation? No, but there are a couple of spots here that could use some upgrades especially if Houston starts to struggle covering innings with the rotation.

Fortunately, the trade market is going to be very robust when it comes to bullpen arms like it is every year. Among the rental types, Aroldis Chapman is likely to get the most attention, although Keynan Middleton is interesting as well from the White Sox. The Royals' Scott Barlow is going to be in demand at the deadline, but he is a guy that would come with an extra year of team control if Houston chose to go that route.

Houston needs to find a short and long-term solution at catcher

Catcher is a position is going to have to address before too long because while the organization has had a seemingly unshakeable attachment to Martin Maldonado, that is becoming untenable. Not only has he largely been a poor offensive player for the vast majority of his career, but he has been getting worse and worse defensively to the point where he has become a liability for the Astros.

If Framber Valdez needs Maldonado to be his personal catcher for whatever reason, that is probably fine for now. However, at the very least the time share between Maldonado and Yainer Diaz needs to change in Diaz's favor. Diaz is the better hitter by a mile and while he probably doesn't know the pitching staff quite as well as Maldonado, he is still grading out as a better defender than him right now.

A trade for a catcher at the deadline is possible, although catcher is one of those positions that is hard to change midseason. If the Rockies wanted to part with Elias Diaz, he could be interesting as a guy with multiple years of control although he would be expensive given the quality of his bat. If the Astros decided to actually part ways with Maldonado altogether and give Diaz the lion's share of the time at catcher, then maybe a guy like Yan Gomes is an option.

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