Willson Contreras is one of the trade targets the Houston Astros should avoid at this year’s trade deadline. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
The Houston Astros should avoid these three players at this year’s trade deadline.
The Houston Astros are in a familiar position this summer. They’re buying! They had a successful trip to New York against both Big Apple clubs over the last few days including a no-hitter versus the New York Yankees and two more wins against the New York Mets after having the same results a week prior in Houston.
The Astros are a perennial favorite to win it all each season. Unfortunately, they’ve done more World Series losing than winning. All they have to show for it is the 2017 championship. Before Justin Verlander finally decides to hang up his cleats and Jose Altuve begins his decline, they need another.
While they should certainly spend resources at this year’s trade deadline to get better, these three players should be avoided.
Willson Contreras
C, Chicago Cubs
Astros trade target to avoid at the deadline: Willson Contreras
Willson Contreras makes a lot of sense for the Astros when you look at one side of the ball. Martin Maldonado and Jason Castro are weak hitters. They might be the weakest combination on offense of any catcher group in MLB this season.
Fortunately, the exact opposite could be said about them on defense. The Astros are getting exactly what they thought they would from this pair. They call a good game and might occasionally get a hit.
Contreras, on the other hand, is having a very good season on offense and one of the best position players expected to get dealt before the trade deadline passes. The Chicago Cubs catcher would make sense for the Astros only if they needed more offense from the catcher spot. They don’t.
Houston doesn’t necessarily need to make any major move at all on offense other than perhaps adding a little more depth. A corner infield addition might make sense for them or even a center fielder. What they don’t need is Contreras—a catcher who will have to work from scratch to get to know the Houston pitching staff.