Houston Astros Linked to Red Sox Outfielder at Trade Deadline

The Houston Astros have been linked to a Boston Red Sox outfielder at the MLB trade deadline in what could be a big splash.

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

What’s the one thing that the Houston Astros should do at the trade deadline? ESPN tried to narrow that down earlier this week.

The site published an article, one month out from the Aug. 1 trade deadline. The exercise was a simple one — what one player should each team trade, or trade for, before the deadline?

Astros general manager Dana Brown has been clear about what he believes the team needs going into July — a left-handed bat and/or rotation depth. The Astros are could certainly use help in both departments.

His predecessors have had different approaches. Jeff Luhnow was aggressive and it helped the Astros reach the World Series in 2017 and 2019. James Click was more conservative and the Astros won the World Series last season.

So what should Brown do? According to ESPN, he should swing a deal to bring in a left-handed bat, Boston Red Sox star Alex Verdugo:

Verdugo hits for average, he gets on base and he doesn’t strike out much. He would be a nice fit as a leadoff hitter for Houston — although other teams might have better prospects to offer Boston than Houston does.

Verdugo was a second-round of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014 who got to Boston as part of the Mookie Betts deal. He’s made himself right at home in Boston, where he’s a .300 hitter this season with five home runs and 32 RBI. He leads the American League in doubles.

Brown recently said that no one in the organization was off-limits when it came to a trade, though outfielder Drew Gilbert is on a near-no trade list. For Brown to deal Gilbert it would need to be for a player that still has years to control.

Trading for Verdugo would fall in line with that. He has one arbitration year left before hitting free agency after the 2024 season. 

The Astros have been willing to pay a big price before to improve in the trade market. In a month, we’ll know if they were willing to do it again. 

Note: A previous version of this story stated that Verdugo was a free agent after the 2023 season. He is not. 

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