Astros Should Prioritize Upgrading Left Field at Trade Deadline This Summer

The Houston Astros have been playing some very good baseball of late and are right in the mix once again in the American League.

After some questionable offseason decisions at the time, it didn’t appear like the Astros were going to be a team that was trying to win in 2025. However, despite trading away Kyle Tucker and letting Alex Bregman walk in free agency, Houston has been one of the best teams in the league.

Even though there was plenty of uncertainty heading into the year about what the team might be, Houston has been vying for first place in the AL West, leaning on a strong pitching staff.

While the rotation has dealt with some injuries, they have a lot of star power at the top with Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez leading the way. What has been key is that the bullpen has been one of the best in baseball, which is somewhat of a significant surprise.

Bradford Doolittle of ESPN (subscription required) recently wrote about what the Astros need to do at the trade deadline to improve.

“Houston will have to hope for positive regression in some cases -- Jose Altuve, Christian Walker, Yordan Alvarez's health. That might be enough to keep Houston alive into October once again. Still, any kind of roster reconfiguring that gets Altuve out of left field might not be the worst idea.”

As expected with the loss of Tucker and Bregman this winter, it has been the offense that has suffered for Houston.

Surprisingly, two of their key veterans have been part of those struggles with both Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve having down years thus far. While Alvarez is currently on the injured list, the dip in production from Altuve is a bit concerning with him getting older.

Furthermore, their top offensive addition in free agency, Christian Walker, has also struggled at first base. The veteran slugger was brought in to help fix that position, but instead, he has not performed well and is making $20 million per season.

Luckily, with some of the veterans struggling, it has been Isaac Paredes and Jeremy Pena stepping up to lead the offense.

While the two youngsters are performing well, the offense for the Astros has to improve.

Due to the veterans having a long track history of success, it is certainly possible that Walker, Alvarez, and Altuve all end up having strong campaigns. However, with a chance to compete, Houston would be wise to try and get some outfield help.

Moving Altuve back to second base full-time and getting a solid left fielder would help improve the Astros immensely heading into the second half.

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