Houston Astros Urged To 'Retool' Before MLB Trade Deadline

The Houston Astros are talented enough to contend for the playoffs despite their cold start, but there is still some work to do.

May 25, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Houston Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker (30) at bat before hitting a sacrifice fly to send in a run Oakland Athletics during the sixth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. / Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Astros season has been all over the place so far, but the only consistent thing is that they are behind in the playoff race. There's still time to get back into it, but their roster might need some work.

Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly looked around the league to summarize each team's season in one sentence. Here's what he had to say for Houston:

"They might still be able to contend in 2024, but a retooling is in order."

As of right now, Houston stands at 24-32 and 6.5 games back in the AL West after losing three straight to the Seattle Mariners. They're seven games back in the Wild Card race as well.

Seattle and the Texas Rangers having down years has opened up the door for the Astros to come back into it with down years of their own, but they have to take advantage.

There looks to be a lot of roster turnover coming after this season, which could lead to some important decisions to be made.

If they want to compete this season, there are a couple of clear holes that need to be filled.

Houston absolutely needs to add another arm to their rotation before the deadline. Currently, their pitchers rank 27th in MLB with a 4.91 staff ERA. Poor play combined with constant injuries have made it nearly impossible to trust the staff as it is currently put together.

The most consistent pitcher has been Ronel Blanco and even he has faced a suspension. Justin Verlander has had a couple of weak starts, but overall has still been very good.

Some names to keep in mind for starting pitchers would be Erick Fedde or Jesus Luzardo.

They also need to add another bat at first base. Jose Abreu and Jon Singleton simply won't cut it if they want to contend.

The Astros been connected to both Pete Alonso and Vladimir Guerrero as some potential splash additions via trade. Josh Bell makes sense as a better value player, thanks to his recent surge. Paul Goldschmidt could work if they want to take another risk, but his season has not been unlike Abreu's so far.

Now, if Houston decides they are past trying to contend this season, they will still need to be active in the trade market.

Verlander, Framber Valdez, Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker are all big names that could very well be in new uniforms next season. They could add a lot to their farm system if they decide enough is enough and call around to check on their value.

Bregman and Tucker make the most sense to trade and would bring in the most in terms of future assets.