Are The Astros Now Looking To Replace Chris Carter?

You heard that?

Listen closer, open your ears…yes, now you know what I’m talking about?

That’s a proverbial clock ticking.

We’re now at 13 days to go before the trade deadline; and, for at least right now. things are mighty silent on the Astros’ front.

That’s at least from what we’re seeing from the outside.

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You never know, there may be more going on behind closed doors than we know about.

The Astros front office seems to swear to the utmost of secrecy with exception of the recent developments that they’d been allegedly hacked by the St. Louis Cardinals.

But now’s the time for the Astros to make a move more than ever, not only to maintain their forward momentum that they’ve had throughout the season but shore up the six-game losing slide that they had just before the All-Star break.

Thank goodness that the streak broke last night — I was beginning to get worried.

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It’s highly apparent that we’re missing the likes of right-fielder George Springer but we’ll have to make do without him as he won’t be ready for about another month or so.

But an interesting development has occurred…

We already know that the Astros have transitioned from spectators during free agency to actual buyers as they’ve demonstrated that they’re serious about adding talent to make this roster a contender.

There’s no doubt they had to accelerate their rebuilding plan because this team has come along sooner than they actually thought.

We know they’re looking to add some top of the rotation pitching.

But Brian McTaggart reports that general manager Jeff Luhnow feels that adding another bat is just as much of a priority:

Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said finding a bat has become a growing point of focus as Trade Deadline nears.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) July 17, 2015

This almost certainly means that first base is going to be likely where Luhnow looks first, where the team puts up some of its weakest offensive numbers.

So is Chris Carter on the verge of being replaced?

He might be headed for a stint on the DL after spraining his right ankle in last night’s contest against the Texas Rangers so we may not have to answer that question for awhile.

He is questionable to play today and has hit .185/.300/.380 thus far.

Not numbers to write home about.

His likely interim replacement, Jon Singleton, hasn’t been much better since being called up June 26 putting up .143/.273/.179 in 10 games — 28 at-bats — so far.

It’s his time to shine now but it’s on him to produce and prove that he isn’t just a really good Triple-A ballplayer but that he belongs in the majors.

Since the Astros are aggressively pursuing Cueto, they might as well see if they can package Jay Bruce in some kind of deal.

Although the pickings are far from slim league-wide, he’d be a nice fit to the rotation.