Astros links to Blue Jays star ahead of trade deadline are getting louder by the day

Once the Houston Astros finally made the decision to cut bait with Jose Abreu, how they were going to handle first base going forward became a hot topic. Many fans were clamoring to just slot Joey Loperfido there to ensure that he got plenty of playing time, but the team seemed to prefer Jon Singleton at the position while finding Loperfido playing time in the outfield when they could.

Unfortunately, that hasn't really worked out. Not only has Houston remained steadfast and even stubborn in their evaluation that Loperfido isn't a big league first baseman just yet, but Singleton has also been pretty underwhelming, especially in the power department since getting regular playing time. The end result of all of this is that the Astros are widely expected to try and add a first baseman at the trade deadline.

The elephant in the room in this discussion is that the Blue Jays have cratered this year, and that makes a trade for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. a potentially exciting option. While Toronto has been maintaining that they will hang on to players with team control beyond 2024 like Guerrero Jr., that hasn't stopped many experts from thinking that the Astros are too perfect a trade match for Toronto to pass up.

Astros Rumors: Houston continues to get connected to a potential Vladimir Guerrero Jr. trade

Getting a guy like Guerrero Jr. to solve the Astros' first base quandary is obviously a best-case scenario. While he hasn't been quite as good as many thought he would be while he was ascending through the minor leagues, Guerrero Jr. has still made the All-Star team four seasons in a row and sports an .818 OPS in 2024 with 13 homers. In terms of pure upside, there isn't a better option potentially available for Houston than the Blue Jays' masher.

The problem is likely to be price on multiple levels. Guerrero Jr. is not only making $19.9 million this year, which could create some payroll/luxury tax headaches for the Astros, but the Blue Jays are going to require a king's ransom to be convinced to part with him a year too early.

With Loperfido finally entrenched in the big leagues (probably), a trade for Guerrero Jr. would almost certainly require Houston to part with top prospect Jacob Melton, plus a couple other prospects in their top 10 to even get Toronto to have a serious discussion, especially if the Astros want Toronto to eat some of his salary.

It is fair to wonder if this would be the wisest use of the Astros' limited resources. With all of the injuries they are dealing with in their rotation, it may be a better idea for Houston to make a big move for a starter, then make things work with lesser options at first base. As nice as it would be to have Guerrero Jr. in the fold, the Astros just have bigger needs elsewhere to use their limited prospect capital and payroll on.

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