Houston Astros Could Address Lineup Needs by Trading with Miami Marlins

The Houston Astros have gone on one of the more surprising surges in baseball over the last few weeks.

Despite suffering several blows to their starting rotation, with Spencer Arrighetti, Hayden Wesneski and Ronel Blanco all hitting the injured list, and their star designated hitter Yordan Alvarez being sidelined, the team is thriving.

With a 38-30 record, they are 4.5 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Angels, who are tied for second place in the American League West.

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The Astros have to be thrilled about climbing out of another early-season hole, but if they want to remain atop the division, they should be on the lookout for some upgrades to their roster.

Starting pitching depth is certainly needed, but the No. 1 need for the team ahead of the MLB trade deadline, in the opinion of Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required), is left-handed hitting.

Without Alvarez, Houston’s lineup more often than not features all right-handed hitters. Backup catcher Victor Caratini, the recently promoted Jacob Melton and backup Cesar Salazar are the only left-handed or switch-hitters on the active roster.

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That is something which needs to change as soon as possible, even when their star slugger is able to return to help balance things out.

Where could the Astros look to get some help?

Bowden has suggested the Miami Marlins, listing two of their players as potential trade targets: Jesus Sanchez and Kyle Stowers.

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Both are outfielders, which would give manager Joe Espada some flexibility and likely push Jose Altuve back to more regular playing time at second base.

The front office and coaching staff have to figure out if that is the best route for the team to take with his diminishing impact defensively. Altuve wasn’t making a positive impact in left field either, but does he hurt the team less with his glove in the grass or on the dirt?

Alas, Sanchez and Stowers would both fill the glaring void of needing a left-handed bat in the lineup.

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Both have produced at a solid clip in 2025, with Sanchez owning an OPS+ of 102 and Stowers with a 120.

Sanchez has a solid power/speed combo with five home runs, six doubles, one triple and seven stolen bases. Stowers could be an All-Star this year as the Marlins representative with 10 home runs, eight doubles, two triples and 33 RBI.

Either player would be a great addition to Houston and they could see their production take off even more.

With the Astros, both would be complementary players, not the centerpiece of a lineup lacking established Major League talent.

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