Houston Astros: Could Another Move Be On The Horizon?

Today marks the beginning of February, meaning pitchers and catchers will report later this month.

Teams are pretty much settling in to their rosters and have a good idea of who will make the 25-man roster.at this point of the offseason.

This year, however, it’s a bit different with some free agents still left on the board, as well as some potential trade candidates.

The Astros had interest in Yovani Gallardo earlier this month, but that has likely evaporated following the signing of Doug Fister. Their five man rotation appears somewhat set, with the loser of the final spot likely headed to the bullpen.

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We know earlier this offseason the Astros bolstered that bullpen by adding closer Ken Giles. To date, that’s the team’s biggest move, trading away several talented prospects to help the team now.

But the Astros could make one more splash before they officially report to camp. Some have speculated that the Astros could look into acquiring Milwaukee Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy. Connecting the dots is easy considering the Astros could use an offensive upgrade at catcher and that current Brewers GM, David Stearns, worked directly under Jeff Luhnow last season.

There’s no doubt the Astros and Brewers could fix a trade pretty quickly considering Stearns knows the Astros farm system better than any other GM

unless you worked for the St. Louis Cardinals.

The simple question is whether or not Lucroy is worth trading away a few more high end prospects.

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In short, I believe that answer is yes. The 29-year old battled injuries last year so his 2015 slash line of .264/.326/.391 took quite a tumble from his 2014 campaign which saw him finish in 4th place of the NL MVP race (.301/.373/.465). Lucroy is also known to be a great defensive catcher and good handler, and his contract is very team-friendly.

Taking all those factors into account, Stearns and the Brewers won’t let him go cheaply. Still, Jason Castro’s lack of offense killed the lineup several times last season and adding Lucroy would only make the offense better, while not losing much, if anything, behind the plate.

Stearns will ask for a heavy package from the Astros but if there are two GM’s who should be able to help one another it’s Stearns and Luhnow. The Brewers appear willing to sell their talent for younger players following this weekend’s of Jean Segura, so it may be only a matter of time before Lucroy is gone.

Click here for all the latest on the Astros’ offseason.

Next: Astros, Fister Agree On One Year Deal

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