Houston Astros: FIVE Moves To Make This Offseason

This is the time of year when Major League Baseball teams who are not in the hunt for a World series title are combing through their needs and wants list to see what they can do to improve their chances of being in the hunt at the end of the 2017 baseball campaign. The Houston Astros, a team expected to vie for the 2016 baseball crown, are in the latter category.

This is the time of year when Major League Baseball teams who are not in the hunt for a World series title are combing through their needs and wants list to see what they can do to improve their chances of being in the hunt at the end of the 2017 baseball campaign. The Houston Astros, a team expected to vie for the 2016 baseball crown, are in the latter category.

Jeff Luhnow and Co. are asking themselves this question:

What do we need to do to get to baseball’s promised land and who are the best players to help us get there?

These are the questions that need to be addressed.

The Astros need to revamp their pitching staff but more importantly they need a couple of big bats and someone who can produce at the bottom of the order.

The following are the top five players that the Astros should be preparing to entice to the warmth of Houston.

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Here are FIVE moves the Astros should make a play for in this off season:

Yoenis Cespedes

First, the Astros will not lose much by letting Colby Rasmus walk. This past season was one that the team could take a flyer on considering how he ended the 2015 season. However, the veteran outfielder demonstrated once again that he is more of a journeyman that has played seemingly everywhere but never consistently enough to call any one park home.

Instead of Colby Rasmus, spend the big bucks and bring Yoenis Cespedes to Houston. The New York Mets left-fielder in all likelihood will test a free agent market that is liable to land him a very large if not the largest contract this year.

Cespedes, 31, is worth every penny. With five straight seasons of 20 plus home runs with an arm and a personality to match, acquiring him would be money well spent for the Astros years to come.

Matt Holiday

Secondly, the Astros are in need of a designated hitter that can produce all year long and not only the last few months of the season. The answer to this nagging problem over the last three years is Matt Holiday.

The St. Louis Cardinals seemingly have no plans to exercise a $17 million option on him and Holiday has had a run of success over the last seven year that few can match. He is a veteran presence in the clubhouse that knows how to win.

During his time with the birds on the bat, he has driven in more than 600 runs and averaging nearly 20 home runs per season. If that isn’t enough, consider this; in 138 career at-bats with the bases loaded, Holliday has hit .399 and driven home 143 runs.

With two outs and the bases loaded, he has hit .400. To have a bat like that protecting Carlos Correa or Cespedes in the three-hole, it’s quite possible a career .303 hitter is just what the doctor ordered.