Houston Astros Rumors: 3 offseason moves that could destroy the future
By T.A. Mock
Trading for either Greinke or Goldschmidt could doom the organization
The Houston Astros have an obvious need when it comes to the starting rotation. Dallas Keuchel has officially declined his qualifying offer and is likely gone next year. Charlie Morton is an unrestricted free agent and could very well be gone next year as well. Beyond that, the Astros also lost Lance McCullers next year after his Tommy John surgery.
The free agent market for pitchers isn’t full of big arms that are worth a ton of money, so the trade market figures to be robust. One of the biggest and most acclaimed arms on the market is Zack Greinke of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Greinke has had a storied career with some serious peaks where he dominated all of baseball. Those highs earned him a massive contract with the Diamondbacks a couple years ago. The Diamondbacks following seasons haven’t gone as planned and they appear ready to conduct a slight rebuild.
However, Greinke has over $100 million left on his contract over four years and the Diamondbacks will likely try to eat some of that money in an effort to get better prospects. Both of those are reasons why the Astros should avoid him because the cost might not be worth it.
light. More. The trade proposal that could land James Paxton
There are also reports that the Astros are planning on using Yuli Gurriel as their primary utility player. So that creates a potential need at first base. As a part of their fire sale, the Diamondbacks are looking to offload Paul Goldschmidt in the final year of his deal.
Goldschmidt is an MVP caliber player so even with one year left on his deal, he’ll still command a king’s ransom, especially if teams get in a bidding war. With the potential of him bolting for money next offseason and with the extensions the Astros have to dole out, this one could be too expensive as well. Along the same lines, the Astros should likely avoid making a move for Jose Abreu as well.
Don’t get me wrong, adding Greinke and/or Goldschmidt would definitely elevate the team to new heights. However, the risk simply outweighs the potential reward and the Astros should steer clear of dealing in the desert this offseason.