One of the biggest problems of the Astros’ season has been their failed attempts to overhaul their outfield mix. After the loss Kyle Tucker In a trade with the Cubs last winter, the team not only missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade but struggled to find production in the outfield. Their 88 wRC+ on grass was eighth-worst in the majors, while a solid defense Jake Meyers in center field helped raise their ranking in terms of fWAR, the club’s outfield ranked just 20th in baseball in that measure as well.
Things have taken a turn for the worse in the Houston area this winter, depending on who you choose among them Jesus Sanchez again Joey Loperfido. As it is currently constructed, Meyers’ statistics for handling the center field and specific combinations of Loperfido, Cam Smith, Zach Cole, Brice Matthewsagain Zach Dezenzo platooning in corners. Smith is the only player to reach 400 plate appearances at the major league level in his career with that club, and he’s a 23-year-old coming off his first rookie season after getting just 32 games in the minors (and only five more in High-A) before his debut. It’s a very unproven team, and it’s been no secret that even after the calendar flips to March with Opening Day just a few weeks away, the Astros are hoping to find a way to add more stability to their outfield.
For most of the off-season, the industry consensus was that they could achieve that by withdrawing Isaac Paredes. Paredes, at least on paper, is blocked all over the diamond after the team gets it Carlos Correa playing third base at last year’s trade deadline. I have Correa in third place, Christian Walker at first, too Jordan Alvarez at DH, there wasn’t much for Paredes to play. Maybe the team was still hoping that a fair deal would be done at some point but the latest is broken fingers Jeremy Pena maybe it changes that calculus. If Pena should miss time, Correa could be relegated to the everyday shortstop role, which would leave the hot corner for Paredes to get regular at-bats to open the season.
That means a big trade for such a person Jarren Duran it’s probably highly unlikely at this point. That being said, there are other ways the team can look to improve its pitching as Opening Day approaches. Free agency (Jesse Winker, Jason Heyward) offers several interesting if unexciting options that could potentially be brought into camp on a minor league contract.
The best NRI candidates are taken by other clubs at this time, but if the player wants Michael Conforto (the Astros were reportedly interested in him before he signed with the Cubs) or Mike Tauchman failing to get their current team out of camp, it’s possible they could opt out of their current deals and find a home in Houston.
It is also possible that a deal involving a player on another team’s major league roster does not pan out completely. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco checked out a few of the most talked about trade prospects that could make sense for the Astros last month. While there’s no guarantee that any of those players are available, it’s fair to imagine a team like the Twins (with all of them Matt Wallner, Trevor Larnach, Alan Rodenagain James Outman vying for just a few spots in their outfield mix) would be willing to part with one of those pieces. That would be very interesting to Minnesota if the Astros were open to listening to some of their depth, as long as the Twins don’t have it. Pablo Lopez this year again David Festa is also expected to start the year on the injured list.
What do MLBTR readers think of the Astros’ outfield situation? Will they be able to get outside help before the season starts? Or will they enter the year with a combination of their interior cornerbacks? Have your say in the poll below:
