MLB insider breathes life into Astros' resurgence, trade deadline plans

It sure sounds like Houston fans should expect fireworks at the trade deadline.

World Series - Houston Astros v Washington Nationals - Game Five
World Series - Houston Astros v Washington Nationals - Game Five / Patrick Smith/GettyImages

For all of the talk about the Houston Astros' recent hot streak being a sign of things to come, it has actually created a bit of a dilemma. Sure, the team is over .500 now and just three games back in the AL West with the Mariners' seemingly fumbling the ball, but being 43-42 as of July 3 isn't exactly amazing. How aggressive the Astros should be at the trade deadline has been an open question.

If Houston decides to play it safe, fans will riot in seeing that as a missed opportunity, especially if the Astros fall just short at the end of the season. However, if the Astros go wild at the trade deadline and then fall apart again, their already very questionable future could look even more bleak if they trade what talent they have for a lost season, like the Angels did at last year's deadline. For all the good news lately, this isn't an easy puzzle to solve.

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal recently made an appearance on Foul Territory where he made it abundantly clear that the Astros are going to be aggressive at the trade deadline and try to make a real run at this thing in 2024.

All fans are hoping for is the front office to make the correct aggressive moves as to not mortage too much of 2025 and beyond.

Astros Rumors: Fans should expect Houston to be very aggressive at the trade deadline

It is pretty wild to hear this given where the Astros were a month ago, but they played their brains out in June and the pieces are falling into place finally. Yordan Alvarez is hitting like an MVP candidate again, the Astros cut the dead weight that was Jose Abreu out of their lineup, and now both Ronel Blanco and Hunter Brown look like rotation mainstays. Getting Justin Verlander healthy is still going to be a key step, but this absolutely looks like a team that should be aggressive at the deadline.

Houston isn't going to be alone in that pursuit, however. The Rangers are in a really weird place right now as they have a couple keys guys that can't seem to stay healthy, which makes them a bit of a wild card in all of this. Jerry Dipoto and the Mariners are going to be aggressive at the deadline as well. With Seattle in first place and clearly defined deadline needs on offense, there is no chance that Dipoto is going to sit on his hands and let the Astros go unchallenged.

The only real question is just how far the Astros are willing to go here. They don't really have the farm system to shop in any aisle they want, but there are a lot of guys on expiring deals, especially in terms of pitchers, that could help them this year. However, it does look like Dana Brown was right that this Astros team was too good to be considered sellers at the deadline, and it will be curious to see what they end up doing now that they have gotten back on track.

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