Houston Astros Rumors: The final trade package that will land JT Realmuto
By T.A. Mock
The Houston Astros need a catcher so, why not go out an add the best catcher in the entire league? Here’s the final trade package to land J.T. Realmuto.
The Houston Astros won the World Series in 2017. They followed up their first championship trophy with the best regular season in franchise history, winning 103 games to only 59 losses. The easily dispatched Cleveland in the divisional round of the playoffs but then fell to Boston in fives games of the ALCS.
So, in spite of the franchise-best regular season, the Astros 2018 campaign did not go quite as the teams and fans alike had hoped. Now, the team has their sights set on the 2019 World Series. While the odds are still good, Houston does have quite a bit of work to do to ensure they’re set up as good as possible to see them return to the pinnacle of baseball.
The biggest hole the Astros have to fill is the three openings in their starting rotation. This is important for the 2019 season but it is also important behind that as Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole are currently slated for free agency after the coming season. Dallas Keuchel, Charlie Morton, and Lance McCullers leave big shoes to fill.
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The Houston Astros seem to have found their replacement for Marwin Gonzalez in the trade for Aledmys Diaz. Platooning Diaz, Yuli Gurriel, and Tony Kemp should be able to make up for what Marwin provided to the Astros. Beyond that, there are a couple of relief spots that could be up for grabs and then there is the catcher position.
The catcher position in baseball equates to quarterback or middle linebacker in football. They control the game on many levels from picking pitches and locations to helping align the defense. So, it’s extremely important to find a good catcher who can command the respect of the team and work seamlessly with the manager and every pitcher on the staff.