The Houston Astros’ trade deadline priorities have come into focus, and the front office is no longer fixated on finding a left-handed bat. General manager Dana Brown said Sunday the club’s priority is simply adding offense to the outfield, regardless of which side of the plate it comes from.
“We’ll take whatever production we can get in the outfield,” Brown said during his pregame radio appearance, adding that the team still expects to be buyers before the deadline.
That’s a notable shift from Brown’s stance earlier this season, when he and the front office had specifically targeted a left-handed hitter to balance a righty-heavy lineup. No team in baseball has leaned less on left-handed hitting than Houston this year, with well under 1,000 plate appearances from that side of the plate all season, and nearly half of that total belongs to Yordan Alvarez alone. Brown had repeatedly emphasized that need in previous comments, but Sunday’s remarks suggest the Astros are now willing to widen their search to include right-handed bats if the fit and production are right.
The numbers explain why. Houston’s outfielders have produced the lowest OPS in the majors this season at .663. Cam Smith returned to the lineup for the White Sox series after taking time to retool his swing, but his only hit in 11 at-bats was a home run in Friday’s opener. The rest of the group didn’t fare much better. Left fielders combined to go 3-for-11 during the series, while center fielders finished 3-for-12, with Taylor Trammell’s Sunday home run accounting for the only extra-base hit from either position.
Houston has been linked to several outfielders in recent reports, including Colorado’s Mickey Moniak and Arizona’s Jake McCarthy, along with potential rental options such as Daulton Varsho if Toronto makes him available. Whether Houston targets a rental or a more controllable player may ultimately depend on what ownership is willing to spend, given the club’s recent luxury-tax history.
The offensive imbalance has been especially noticeable over the past week. Houston’s top three hitters—Jeremy Peña, Yordan Alvarez, and Isaac Paredes—accounted for 14 of the club’s 18 runs during its three-game sweep of the Marlins, and Paredes drove in all four Astros runs in Saturday’s win over the White Sox. Peña, who homered twice in Sunday’s loss, has remained one of the hottest hitters in baseball and said afterward that the club is playing well across pitching, hitting, and defense.
Adding offense would place greater pressure on Houston’s current rotation and internal pitching depth to hold the line, particularly after Spencer Arrighetti’s foot injury and trip to the injured list. Hunter Brown’s strong outing Saturday was an encouraging sign after his own uneven return from injury, while Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski remain part of the organization’s longer-term pitching outlook as they recover from Tommy John surgery. Brown also left the door open to dealing from Houston’s pitching depth if the right offensive addition becomes available, though he stressed any move would have to make sense for the organization.
With a week remaining before the August 3 trade deadline, Houston’s priorities no longer appear to be a mystery. The Astros are looking for offense, and after months of searching for a left-handed bat, they’re now willing to take it from wherever they can find it.
Heading to Daikin Park soon? Check our complete Astros promotions schedule before your next game.
