This Is The Impact Bat The Astros Should Target At The Trade Deadline

Deadline deals have been a staple of the Astros under Jim Crane.

Some have been great--Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke would fit here. Others have been terrible--see Josh Hader for Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers. And some have been somewhere in the middle--see Trey Mancini's woes at the plate before making a defensive play to save the World Series.

All that to say, the Astros are likely to get aggressive come the deadline.

While their pitching staff is battling injury and could potentially use another starter if for no other purpose than depth, it's their lineup that could use help. Yes, getting Jose Altuve back is a huge boost, but the Astros are currently 18th in runs per game at 4.51 and have the 22nd best team OPS at .706.

Altuve should provide an uptick, but their offense needs more.

The Astros need to trade for Jorge Soler.

Houston should be rather familiar with the 2021 World Series MVP. They after all were on the receiving end of his heroics. The Braves traded for Soler at the 2021 deadline and he went on to post an .882 OPS with 14 home runs in 55 games in Atlanta. His postseason performance was the stuff of legend, and for his career, he's an incredible performer come October.

Across eight playoff series, Soler holds a .292 average, six home runs and an 1.110 OPS. On a team that makes deep October runs as often as the Astros, he'd be more than accustomed to the bright lights.

Soler is off to a fantastic start this season for the Marlins, hitting .254 with 17 home runs, an .892 OPS and a 139 OPS+. The Marlins are currently in the third NL Wild Card spot, but their -41 run differential shows they are overachieving and are unlikely to stay in that place. It would not be surprising to see Miami sell come deadline time.

Soler's Statcast page is exceptional: 97th percentile xSLG, 96th percentile in barrel rate and max exit velocity, 94th pecentile in xwOBA, 64th percentile in xBA and 50th percentile in walk rate. For a team in desparate need of runs, that seems like a pretty seamless fit.

Soler is under contract for $12 million a year for the next two years, so he likely will have a long line of suitors, but his bat just may be worth meeting the Marlins' asking price in order for Houston to bolster their chances of a World Series repeat