Surprising market shift from Angels-Orioles deal forces Astros to rethink roster cuts

Earlier this week, the Houston Astros' AL West rival, the Los Angeles Angels, executed a trade with the Baltimore Orioles. The Halos shipped longtime outfielder Taylor Ward to the East Coast in exchange for oft-injured starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez.

Ward is in the final year of his arbitration window, and while he has loads of pop, there are definite flaws in his game. The 31-year-old provides little defense, is a below-average runner, and hasn't posted an OPS above .800 since 2022. Yet despite all the imperfections, the Angels were able to secure a starting pitcher with plenty of upside and team control through 2029.

With that in mind, perhaps the Astros should think twice before non-tendering Jesús Sanchez ahead of Friday's deadline. Though no one outside of the Astros' front office truly knows the club's intention, a number of the Houston faithful believe Sanchez is on the chopping block.

Angels-Orioles trade could force Astros to rethink roster cuts ahead of the non-tender deadline

Sanchez came to the Astros by way of a trade deadline deal with the Miami Marlins. Houston was looking for some added pop to help push them into the postseason, but Sanchez crashed and burned upon his arrival in H-Town. Sanchez hit just .199/.269/.342 with four home runs and 12 RBI after joining the Astros. The slugger's in line to make upwards of $6 million next season, so you can understand why a lot of Astros fans would want to cut bait.

But if Houston can get something meaningful in exchange for Sanchez before the non-tender deadline passes, they should do it. While it's slightly unfair to compare Sanchez to Ward, the Astros outfielder brings another year of team control and has recorded double-digit home runs over the last five seasons. Sanchez actually has a higher career batting average than Ward and is the better defender.

Given how much Houston needs to deepen their starting rotation, the Astros brass should be calling every GM throughout the league who needs an outfielder. Small market clubs looking to make a low-cost addition, like the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates, may be willing to take a flier on a player like Sanchez and could be willing to deal from their abundant farm systems.

Non-tendering Sanchez should definitely be in play, but after seeing what LA received in return, the Astros should at least call around to gauge the interest of other organizations.