Trade Deadline Talk: Astros Should Grab An Impact Bat

Over the next few days, we here at House of Houston will look at different potential acquisitions for the Astros as they get ready for Monday’s MLB trade deadline

The Houston Astros have been one of the best team’s in baseball since late May. They’ve done it on the strength of both their starting pitching and their offense.

As we saw recently in the series against the Yankees, the Astros offense is prone to struggle from time to time. That’s what happens when you have lots of power bats and players that don’t hit above .300.

Of course you have Jose Altuve leading the league in hitting, but no other Astro is hitting above .275. Only Carlos Correa, Luis Valbuena, George Springer and Marwin Gonzalez are hitting above .250. An offense like that, while fun at times, will often have streaks of zero-to-two run games in random spurts.

In order to avoid such stretches, I suggest the Astros go out and acquire an impact bat. That doesn’t necessarily mean a power bat, rather someone who can keep the Astros offense moving.

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Two names I suggest the Astros look into are Ryan Braun and Charlie Blackmon. Let’s start with Braun.

Take away the off-field steroid story and Braun would still be one of the more popular players in the game. However, his popularity has fallen off a bit due to the steroid issue and the Brewers’ lack of competitive baseball.

What hasn’t really fallen off is Braun’s play of late. The 32-year old has looked like his former self, slashing .321/.383/.515 with 14 HR and 12 SB in 85 games this year.

Looking at Braun’s contract, he’s owed $72 million over the next four seasons (not including this season). He has a $20 million mutual option in 2021, making it a $92 million deal over the next five years. If Braun were a free agent this coming winter, there’s a good chance he could command something similar since this upcoming year’s free agent class is one of the worst in recent years.

If the Astros were to trade for Braun, he’d slide in nicely in the 5-hole and play left field. Colby Rasmus has been streaky as ever, and though he finally snapped an 0-for-forever streak with a home run last night, the Astros can’t afford to play his inconsistent bat in the heat of a pennant race. Rasmus is also a free agent after this season and replacing him with Braun would be an upgrade.

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Of course Milwaukee GM David Stearns is the Astros former assistant GM. He and Astros GM Jeff Luhnow have already hooked up on trades a few times, including Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers last deadline. Stearns knows the Astros farm system as well as anyone and a trade between the two parties makes perfect sense.

The Colorado Rockies also make sense as a trade partner for Houston. The Rockies aren’t expected to contend anytime soon and should dangle both Carlos Gonzalez and Charlie Blackmon. While Gonzalez is the bigger name, he’s also owed $20 million next season before coming off the books following the ’17 season.

Gonzalez has slashed .317/.370/.544 with 20 HR and 62 RBI this season, but his home/road splits may affect his value. In 50 road games this season, Gonzalez is hitting just .277 with a .735 OPS. While not spectacular, it’d still be an upgrade for the Astros outfield.

Unlike Gonzalez, Blackmon hasn’t been as drastically affected by home/road splits. The Rockies CF has slashed .299/.360/.462 this season batting from the leadoff spot. He’s arbitration eligible the next two seasons before becoming a free agent in the winter of 2019.

I believe Blackmon would be the most optimal fit for the Astros. As a center fielder, he’d replace Carlos Gomez and would bat second in between George Springer and Jose Altuve. The lefty would split up the righties at the top of the order and defensively he has tons of experience in a spacious center field.

Based on contract and fit, Blackmon should be the Astros #1 outfield target. The Rockies aren’t contending any time soon and the 30-year old Blackmon won’t be his best by the time the Rockies are contenders.