Despite a wave of injuries, the Houston Astros have positioned themselves to be buyers ahead of next week’s trade deadline. Houston is currently on top of the American League West with a record of 59-42 and just a half-game back of the Detroit Tigers for the best record in the American League.
With the Toronto Blue Jays holding the same record and six teams within 4.5 games of the final wild card spot in the AL, it figures to be a wide open pennant chase preceded by an arms race ahead of July 31.
The term “arms race” may be most accurate for the Astros. With Lance McCullers landing on the injured list last week, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that Houston is looking for a starting pitcher as the deadline approaches. While Houston could also land a left-handed second baseman or an outfielder as a backup plan, “Plan C” may be strengthening the bullpen to lessen the load on their starters.
If the Astros fall that far, they may have some names that are sliding under the radar. But it appears a pair of dream trade targets have already come off the board due to a high asking price from their current team.
Twins Reportedly Want Multiple Top 100 Prospects for Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax
If the Astros have to go far down the line, Minnesota Twins relievers Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran make sense as trade targets. Both relievers are controllable through the 2027 season and both have high chase rates and high strikeout rates that could add a boost to Houston’s bullpen. But this deal could be over before it even starts as ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the Twins would look for “multiple top 100-caliber prospects” in return for either pitcher.
“Perhaps the ask on Duran and Jax deflates now and the deadline, but Minnesota is historically a team that sets a high bar on returns and doesn’t deviate,” Passan wrote. “For a team with championship aspirations, either of them would register as a monumental addition, so it’s not an entirely unreasonable position for the Twins to take.”
The Twins are fading out of the divisional and wild card races. While they are four games behind the Boston Red Sox for the final spot in the wild card and will host a three-game series in Minneapolis right before the deadline, they also lost a weekend series to the Colorado Rockies, who are on pace to become one of the worst teams in MLB history.
But while the Twins may be inching toward selling, they have good reason to ask for a haul. The Miami Marlins were in a similar situation at last year’s deadline and turned relievers Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoeing into four prospects in a trade with the San Diego Padres. Current top 100 pitching prospect Robby Snelling was the centerpiece of that deal but the Marlins also received pitcher Adam Mazur (No. 4) and utilityman Graham Pauley (No. 5) who were top five prospects in the San Diego organization at the time of the trade according to MLB Pipeline.
With Jax and Duran both more than short-term rentals, the Twins could look for a bigger haul as they have plans to contend in 2026. This could make a deal difficult and leave the Astros looking somewhere else if their plans fall this far down the line.
It would make more sense for Houston to pursue a second baseman such as Tampa Bay’s Brandon Lowe or acquire a starting pitcher that could toss one of their back-end arms to the bullpen. But with just one top 100 prospect in the system (2B/SS Brice Matthews) a blockbuster deal like this could be off the board and leave Houston to figure out another option.