Comments from Mariners owner should light a fire under Astros' GM Dana Brown

The Seattle Mariners are sitting atop the AL West at the moment, and it would appear that they have no intention of leaving that spot. According to the Seattle Times, Mariners managing partner John Stanton said Seattle's front office will have his support to be active in the trade market this summer.

Seattle is already among one of the best pitching teams in all of baseball. If the Mariners are able to target some big bats at the trade deadline, the M's could join the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, and Cleveland Guardians as the cream of the crop in the American League.

But the Houston Astros can't allow that to happen. That means that it's time for Astros owner Jim Crane to open his wallet (if necessary) and light a fire under GM Dana Brown. If the Mariners are going to be buyers at the the trade deadline, the Astros must be as well.

Comments from Mariners owner should light a fire under Astros' GM Dana Brown

Frankly, given the rash of injuries Houston has endured this season, including the loss of Jose Urquidy and Christian Javier to Tommy John surgery, adding another quality starter should probably be atop Brown's shopping list. Pitchers like Jesús Luzardo and Tyler Anderson might make a lot of sense. Another AL West rival, the Oakland A's, may be shopping Paul Blackburn as well.

The Houston bats have been fine for the most part, but José Abreu cannot be the starting first baseman on a championship caliber team. Do the Astros look at New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso or perhaps Miami Marlins first baseman Josh Bell?

Whichever direction the Astros choose to go, whether it's one big name or several complementary pieces, Brown and Co. need to be aggressive. The standard has been set — the Astros and their fans have World Series expectations, so long as this core is still intact.

With Alex Bregman likely out the door this offseason, and the duo of Framber Valdez and Kyle Tucker entering free agency after the 2025 season, Houston cannot afford to be cautious at the deadline. The Mariners cannot be the only team in the AL West who are buyers at the trade deadline. The Astros will have to enter the fray.

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