Breaking: Houston’s Off-season Agenda: Rekindle Interest in Summer Trade Target

All of the attention thus far this offseason for the Houston Astros has been on what they will do with their prominent free agents.

Third baseman Alex Bregman and starting pitchers Justin Verlander and Yusei Kikuchi are all set to hit the market. Will any of them be retained, and if not, how will the team go about replacing them?

For various reasons, they would be a tough trio to replace. Ideally, they will bring back at least one or two of them so that there aren’t any more voids created that need to be filled.

The Astros already have enough of those, with first base likely being at the top.

Houston began the 2024 season with Jose Abreu as their starting first baseman, but he was the worst hitter in baseball. Time spent away from the team didn’t help him get on track, as the former MVP has been one of the biggest busts in recent free agency history.

His replacement Jon Singleton was a little better; he could not perform worse. But, his production was still underwhelming as the team should be seeking an upgrade this offseason.

One player who could be on their radar is Yandy Diaz of the Tampa Bay Rays. They AL West champions were mentioned as a potential fit for him by Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report.

Ahead of the 2024 MLB trade deadline, it felt like a foregone conclusion he would be traded as part of their firesale.

They were involved in several deals, but the veteran first baseman ended up sticking around. Expect his name to be involved in trade rumors again as his $10 million salary could be too burdensome for the franchise to handle.

Also, his production slipped in 2024 compared to 2023, as his 22-home run campaign looks to be an outlier.

Alas, even with the drop in production, Diaz would have been a massive upgrade for an Astros lineup that received nothing from first base. A .281/.341/.414 slash line and OPS+ of 116 all blow away what Abreu and Singleton provided.

Now 33 years old, there are some concerns that his production is going to start to slip. Would Houston take advantage of another veteran potentially outside of his prime after the debacle they just went through with Abreu?

It would be a bit of a risk, but a worthwhile one to take to fill that hole. Also, in a pinch, Diaz could help out at third base should Bregman actually depart this offseason.