4 moves the Astros need to make immediately after the All-Star break

The Astros need to be aggressive in getting the bullpen depth they want

The Houston bullpen has been very good this season to be sure. However, every single contending team should be looking to get some more bullpen depth for the stretch run. If anything, giving Dusty Baker another option so that he will stop running Rafael Montero out there in competitive games as much would be a win.

The problem is that the bullpen market is where the most competition from other teams for the best options exists and it has already begun. The Rangers traded for arguably the top bullpen arm on the market, Aroldis Chapman, before we even got to the month of July.

Houston needs to act quickly to get the bullpen arms they want. If fairness, it takes two to tango and many sellers are going to want to wait until as close to the deadline as possible to drive up the price and urgency. However, the Astros should be able to at least force the issue on grab one arm that they feel good about. Keynan Middleton, Chris Stratton, Michael Fulmer, and Jason Foley are all names that should be interesting here.

The Astros need to make a decision on Korey Lee, Martin Maldonado, and their catching situation

The Astros' catching situation has had to be put on the backburner with Yordan Alvarez out and Yainer Diaz in the lineup at DH in his absence. However, Alvarez appears to be on the road to recovery and once he is DHing again, Houston is finally going to have their hands forced regarding their catching situation and Martin Maldonado.

Look, we get it. Maldonado is very popular guy in the Houston organization. However, he has been very, very bad this season on both sides of the ball. Diaz needs to get the lion's share of the time at catcher once everything returns to normal. We would even go one step further and say that Maldonado needs to not be playing at all. Korey Lee is doing good work down in the minor leagues right now and while his defense may not be great, he could use some reps in the big leagues this year to see what Houston has instead of just letting him rot in the minors.

This is about the future of this team and at this point, Houston is leaving runs and outs on the table continuing to try and find room for Maldonado. He has been one of the worst players in baseball this season and even if Lee isn't a long-term option, giving him some playing time will give the Astros the information they need to make that decision instead of kicking the can down the road.

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