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5 best trade chips the Astros have going into the trade deadline
The trade deadline is coming up fast. Here are the best trade chips the Houston Astros have to offer to get deals done.
The 2023 trade deadline is around a week away and the Houston Astros have positioned themselves as clear buyers. Houston has kept pace with the Rangers for the most part to start the second half, but they are going to need some help at the deadline to stay in the playoff hunt both in the AL West as well as the wild card race.
With all of the injuries in the Astros' rotation this season, starting pitching is a pretty clear need at the moment. Adding another power bat would be lovely plus every contending team could use some more bullpen depth. That isn't an insignificant shopping list at the deadline and that means Houston is going to have to be willing to pony up to have a chance at getting everything they need.
Here are 5 of the Astros' best trade chips at the trade deadline
Picking who to keep and who to trade is never easy, but the reality is that the Astros are going to have to give up some talent to get some in return. However, just because a player is on this list doesn't mean that they are completely expendable. Some players are higher end prospects that really should only be moved for top end talent that preferably comes with at least some team control.
Others are a bit more expendable that could be the center of trades for significant rentals. Before anyone gets too up in arms, it is highly unlikely that Houston will be able to make enough moves of note to actually end up losing all of these guys. These are just some of the Astros' best options to make deals work without causing too many other problems with their current roster.
Lets take a look at the Astros' best trade chips (within reason) they have available at the trade deadline.
Drew Gilbert
There will be plenty of folks upset that the mere suggestion of trading the Astros' highest ranking prospect, Drew Gilbert, but the Astros have to have the option to be aggressive at the deadline if the opportunity presents itself. Gilbert made short work of high-A this year and while he has struggled more in his first look at Double-A, most evaluators agree that he looks like a guy that should have a very well-rounded, high energy game that should allow him to be a significant contributor in the big leagues.
However, the Astros can't just hope that the ideal rental starter or power bat just falls in their laps as the quality options available there are pretty thin this year and are in high demand. To make a deal for good players with some additional team control like all of those rumored Dylan Cease connections, Gilbert is going to have to be on the table. The right deal may not present itself to warrant moving him and Houston should not force anything, but having Gilbert as a trade chip needs to be on the table.
Justin Dirden
Sellers at the deadline come in a lot of different forms. Some teams are truly rebuilding and are just looking to maximize the amount of long-term talent they want to get back in a given deal. However, there are others that may be out of the playoff hunt this year, but who are looking to quickly retool their roster to compete as soon as next season. The latter is where a guy like Justin Dirden could be particularly appealing.
Dirden is a outfield prospect that is already at Triple-A and while he has only posted a .789 OPS in Triple-A so far this season, he is coming off back-to-back seasons where he posted OPS-es north of .930. To get a deal done with team looking for near major league ready bats, Dirden is exactly the kind of power to all fields kind of guy that could get their attention.
One note here: the Astros could use a power bat at the deadline, so there is an argument for Houston to hang on to Dirden if they decide to move one of their existing outfielders (more on them in a second). If that is the case, the Astros have a lot of outfield depth in the minor leagues to deal from, although none are as close to big league ready as Dirden.
Chas McCormick
Astros general manager Dana Brown has already said that he is willing to deal from Houston's major league depth in the outfield to fill other roster needs. While there are less valuable outfielders to the Astros' current roster, we decided to go with Chas McCormick as our major league outfield trade chip of choice for the deadline.
McCormick has been great this season with an .892 OPS and 2.7 rWAR of production. In fact, there is a very strong argument that dealing Jake Meyers and/or Corey Julks would be a much easier short-term loss to absorb. However, McCormick is the kind of big league contributor with multiple years of team control that could help get a big trade done. This is another spot where Houston shouldn't force anything and moving a lesser outfielder would be fine, but being open to move McCormick is a hell of a card to be able to play if Houston is looking to swing big.
Colton Gordon
While teams don't typically like to make huge trades with pitching prospects at the center of them, teams are also always looking to add arms if the price is reasonable and they have some upside. Lefty Colton Gordon is one of the few Houston pitching prospects that actually fits the bill here.
The Astros' 8th round pick from the 2021 MLB Draft has missed bats at a high rate in both of his seasons as a pro. After rocketing through the low minors last season, he has posted a 3.28 ERA with 109 strikeouts in 85 innings this season. He "probably" needs another year in the minor leagues before he is ready for show time, but he could be very appealing to teams that need some pitching help in the relatively near term.
Spencer Arrighetti
Finally, we come to another arm in Spencer Arrighetti and he is an interesting option sitting there at Triple-A. Assuming everything goes according to plan, Arrighetti has the stuff to be a middle of the rotation starter with a plus fastball and plus slider. However, it has been pretty telling that for all of the issues that Houston has had in their rotation, they are looking outside the organization for rotation help instead of giving Arrighetti a look.
The answer there is that Arrighetti simply isn't ready yet. He only has a handful of innings in Triple-A and while the pure stuff is good, there are still some real command issues to iron out. He could be appealing to a team looking for bullpen help in the near-term as his stuff could play up in relief or to a team that can afford to work with him and wait beyond this season for him to develop.
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