Covering the bases for the Houston Astros: Thoughts on the trade deadline, Alex Bregman moved down the roster

Hello Astros subscribers!

We’re excited to launch our new weekly segment, “Covering the Basics,” where we dive into all the latest and greatest happenings with your team. From big games, quizzes and the best reads on your favorite team, you can view this as your behind-the-scenes look at our team beat reporter for all things Astros over the past week. Let us know in the comments if you like this story format.

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Power Rankings: Houston Astros are No. 17

In this week’s Power Rankings, we went with our “Wish You Were Here” theme, highlighting the impact of players who spent time on the injured list.

Latest power ranking: 19

Wish you were Here: Framber Valdez

The Astros had a mini hot streak last week before losing their final two games of the weekend, but the story is still the same: Damn, the pitching staff is struggling to stay healthy. They had a good week in the run prevention department, but consider how many pitchers the Astros have used over the past two seasons:

2022: 22 different pitchers
2023: 24
2024: 23

They are missing a lot of starting pitchers, but they miss Valdez the most. Everyone but the rest of the AL West misses him. — Grant Brisbee

The big league quiz

Cover the basics

ICYMI, our national writers have given their thoughts on what they’re hearing and seeing

1. A reason for optimism (and pessimism)

Jim Bowden noted a reason why every club feels hopeful and a reason not to. Here’s what he said about the Astros:

Reason to be optimistic: They have made the playoffs each of the last seven years and have the experience to overcome adversity and their latest start to the season. Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez are all doing offensive damage as expected and although Alex Bregman has gotten off to a slow start, it’s hard to believe he won’t be back on track soon. Rotation injuries are primarily to blame for the poor start as Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez spent time on the injured list and Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia, José Urquidy and Lance McCullers Jr. are still sidelined. Their replacements couldn’t hold up: JP France was optioned to the minors after going 0-3 with a 7.46 ERA, while Spencer Arrighetti is still in the big club but has an 8 ERA. ,27. Ronel Blanco was the only bright spot, going 3-0 with a 1.65 ERA. Interestingly, their three back relievers, considered the best trio in the sport entering the season, have been a disaster. Josh Hader has a 6.39 ERA, Ryan Pressly has a 5.68 ERA and Bryan Abreu has a 4.02 ERA. Once this pitching staff is healthy and pitching at full strength, the Astros should get back into the pennant race, no matter how tough it seems right now.

Reason for pessimism: The Astros are 11-20 and tied for last place. Few times in baseball history has a team dug a hole this big and still made the playoffs. Hunter Brown can’t seem to get on track in the rotation, going 0-4 with a 9.78 ERA, and first baseman José Abreu looks finished as he doesn’t was hitting just .099 when he accepted an optional assignment to the club’s spring training facility.

Houston has had its problems – but Jose Altuve is not one of them. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)

2. Astros sellers at the trade deadline?

Ken Rosenthal explained which teams could be surprise sellers at the deadline, including the Astros:

As AthleticismJayson Stark noted in his column “What We Learned in the First Month,” only one team started a season 7-19 or worse and reached the playoffs — the 1914 “Miracle Braves.” Good news for the Astros is that they are now 11-20 — and the expanded playoffs are more lenient on clubs than they were when the Braves played in Boston.

Virtually everyone in sports thinks the Astros will recover one way or another. Maybe not enough to continue their streak of seven consecutive trips to the American League Championship Series. But at least enough to get closer to a wild card, especially as their pitching becomes healthier.

Owner Jim, “the window will never close” Crane is not one to concede. One day this might be a problem. Athleticism‘s Keith Law ranks the Astros’ farm system 27th in the majors. And Crane, if he did everything he could for Steve Cohen, circa 2023, could set the deadline on fire.

Interesting thought. But barring a complete collapse, 2024-25 free agents Justin Verlander, Alex Bregman and Ryan Pressly are likely safe, as are 2025-26 free agents Kyle Tucker and Framber Valdez.

3. A trade the Astros should make

Following the Marlins’ trade of Luis Arraez to the Padres, Jim Bowden proposed a few other trades he would like to see made. One of them involved the Astros:

Blue Jays trade 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to Astros for 1B/OF Joey Loperfido and of Kenedy Corona

Guerrero will be a free agent after the 2025 season and the Blue Jays have not yet signed him to a long-term deal. They would get a much better return in a trade now than in the offseason or before next year’s trade deadline; therefore, they will have to seriously consider selling him in July if they fall out of the race. Guerrero is still only 25 years old and just entering his prime. Can you imagine him hitting between Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker over the next two seasons (at least)? Vlad Jr.’s best season came in 2021, when he led the majors with 48 home runs and led the AL with a 1.002 OPS. He followed that up with a 32-homer season and a Gold Glove Award in 2022. However, the three-time All-Star’s numbers dipped last year to 26 homers and a .788 OPS, and this year he’s only hitting . 239 with four. home runs, 15 RBIs and a .711 OPS. A change of scenery, including a move to Houston, could be a huge boost for him. The Astros need help at first base. José Abreu, who was drafted to the team’s spring training center last week, appears to be in serious decline. Jon Singleton played well for them, but he is more of a solid bench player. Guerrero would solve the Astros’ first base and really stretch their lineup.

In return, the Blue Jay would get Loperfido, who could take over first base in the long run. He led the Minors with 13 homers when the Astros promoted him last week. Loperfido, 24, can also play left field. Corona, 24, can play all three positions and outfield profiles as a high-end type producer with 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases. He’s hitting .185/.340/.309 this season in Double A with 10 steals in 11 attempts. Both players will not be eligible for arbitration until at least 2027.

baseball beat

Our beatwriter has selected what you need to know

JP France injured and depth exhausted

JP France is expected to miss “some time” with a shoulder injury, reducing starting pitching depth that already didn’t exist. In a vacuum, France’s injury isn’t groundbreaking — Houston optioned him to Triple-A after posting a 7.46 ERA in his first five starts — but it highlights a problem that has permeated the Astros season. Houston now has five major-caliber starters on its 40-man roster, two of which are Hunter Brown (8.89 ERA) and rookie Spencer Arrighetti, whom the team rushed to the major leagues last month out of desperation. Twenty-seven games loom over the next 28 days, a stretch that could once again reveal Houston’s lack of attention to its pitching depth this winter.

José Abreu’s troubled future with Astros

There is no timetable for José Abreu’s return from the team’s spring training facility in West Palm Beach, manager Joe Espada told the team’s flagship radio station Tuesday afternoon. , increasing the likelihood of an extended absence for Houston’s $58.5 million first baseman. Espada, general manager Dana Brown and his teammates praised Abreu’s selflessness for accepting a minor league option amid his miserable start to the season, but it’s worth asking what it can actually accomplish . And, if Jon Singleton continues his resurgence, that raises questions about whether there’s even a spot for Abreu on Houston’s active roster.

Alex Bregman struggled. (Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Associated Press)

Alex Bregman was left out of the lineup

Alex Bregman’s pop-up-plagued platform year is one of the team’s biggest problems, but until Wednesday, Espada was reluctant to move him out of the top four in the starting order. Houston hitters. Part of the reason is that Bregman has always bounced back from slow starts. Another: the comfort of Jeremy Peña in fifth position. Alas, Espada put Peña in the cleanup zone for Wednesday’s game and dropped Bregman to sixth, the lowest he has reached in a championship game since September 1, 2021.

Field notes

And now, a quick word from the comments section.

The Killer Bs are indeed back, but for the wrong reasons. Bregman has a .520 OPS after his first 142 plate appearances, almost all of which have come from the top four spots in Houston’s batting order. A supposedly tight bullpen has thrown eight saves, sports a 4.55 ERA and is home to a $95 million closer with a 1.432 WHIP. General manager Dana Brown and Jeff Bagwell, who had great influence on baseball operations decisions before Brown’s arrival and who continue to carry caches, are common lightning rods for an irate fan base.

(Top photo by Kyle Tucker: Rich Graessle / Icon Sportswire / Associated Press)