Could Houston Astros Really Shop Abreu at Trade Deadline?

A Top 100 big board of potential deadline trade targets included the Houston Astros slugger and an infielder having a career season.

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Astros have several needs going into the trade deadline on Aug. 1. But they also have some players that they could stand to move.

Two players were identified in a recent article in The Athletic. The site compiled a big board of the Top 100 players that are on the radars of front offices around the league with the trade deadline set for Aug. 1.

These are not players that are on the market — at least not yet. But they’re players that general managers and player personnel directors are talking about, per the story.

They’re both interesting selections — first baseman José Abreu and infielder Mauricio Dubón.

Abreu might seem like a ridiculous notion, in terms of a trade. His numbers have been awful in comparison to the rest of his career, as he’s batting .225 with four home runs and 33 RBI. He is not hitting like the same player that won the 2020 American League MVP or made three All-Star teams.

The Astros are also on the hook for two more years of his contract. He signed a three-year, $58.5 million deal this offseason. He’s owed $19.5 million each of the next two seasons.

Why would anyone deal for Abreu? It’s likely no one will. But, per The Athletic:

If the Astros can get out from under some of the $39 million they’ll owe him in 2024 and 2025, they will.

Dubón is a completely different case. He picked up the slack at second base for the Astros with Jose Altuve out. He’s putting up some of the best numbers of his career, including a .292 average. He has three more arbitration years ahead so he’s under team control until he becomes a free agent after the 2026 season.

Moving Dubón, the Athletic writes, would be more about a team wanting his skills to use him as a starter — something he can’t do every day for the Astros — than it would be about the Astros actually wanting to move him.

The Astros need starting pitching and some offensive help. There is a price to be paid for each.

That price could include Abreu and Dubón. The Astros may not be shopping them, but they’re on other teams’ radars for now.

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