Astros News: Dana Brown trade deadline comments, Forrest Whitley, Jacob Melton

Normally, Fridays are when teams across the league dump a bunch of news, but Monday was a particularly busy news day for the Houston Astros. Jose Urquidy's possible season-ending surgery was a hot topic as was Kyle Tucker fouling a ball and hurting himself.

However, one of the more intriguing tidbits came courtesy of general manager Dana Brown. Earlier this month, Brown was adamant that he doesn't plan on selling at the trade deadline despite the Astros' early-season struggles. Around a month has passed since he made that declaration and it doesn't sound like Brown has changed his mind.

Astros News: Dana Brown still doesn't think the Astros will sell at deadline

Despite the fact that the Astros are seven games under .500 and seven games out of a playoff spot, Brown doubled down on his position that he doesn't see the Astros as trade deadline sellers in an interview with The Athletic. While this may seem like pure posturing and trying to ignore Houston's reality, there is a method to the madness here.

For one, the Astros are close enough to a playoff spot that Brown was never going to say anything else for fear that Houston's clubhouse could implode if they thought a fire sale was possible. The Astros are also going into the easiest month of their 2024 schedule, and with so many teams making the playoffs these days, planning on selling this far out also doesn't make any sense. Houston's front office could obviously change course if the team continues to struggle, but there is too much talent on this roster to give up at this juncture.

Astros News: Forrest Whitley is throwing again

The oft-injured Forrest Whitley has been on the minor league IL since April with an elbow issue. After battling injuries (along with a suspension) during his time in the minor leagues, 2024 was supposed to be his time to finally contribute in the big leagues as a bullpen piece, but unfortunately his latest malady derailed those plans.

However, there was good news on the Whitley front on Monday when Brown revealed that Whitley has resumed throwing again. Whitley threw 20 pitches in a live batting practice session and will continue to ramp back up before making full appearances in the minors again. If that goes well, don't be surprised if we see Whitley contributing to the Astros' bullpen in the not-too-distant future, assuming he doesn't hurt himself again.

Astros News: Jacob Melton's mystery ailment and prognosis revealed

Minor league injuries are always tricky to figure out, as teams often don't put guys who are hurt officially on the IL, and information is much harder to pry out of them. Such was the case with the Astros' top prospect Jacob Melton, who was off to a strong start to the 2024 season, but who also hadn't played in a game at all since May 22.

Fortunately, Brown also had an explanation for Melton's absence on Monday as he said that Melton injured his wrist on a diving play in late May. While he is still listed as active, Brown said that it will probably be another "week or so" before he is back playing in minor league games.

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