Houston Astros Named 'Perfect' Trade Partner for Intriguing NL Team

Could the Houston Astros be a potential trade partner for this intriguing National League team?

Jun 1, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez (59) reacts after throwing a strikeout against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning at Minute Maid Park. / Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Astros continue to be linked to many different trade rumors with under a month left before the 2024 MLB trade deadline arrives.

No one knows what Dana Brown and the Astros are going to do. They could buy talent and try to compete this season, and at the same time, they could trade away talent and retool for the future.

Keeping that in mind, there are many teams around the league who are hoping that Houston opts to sell. The Astros have a lot of talent that could be of interest to teams hoping to contend.

One of those teams could be the St. Louis Cardinals, who are quietly becoming a contender in the National League.

Josh Jacobs of Redbird Rants, a Cardinals' website on FanSided, has listed Houston as a potentially perfect trade partner for St. Louis.

Jacobs mentioned a couple of different players. Both of the names he suggested are starting pitchers. Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez were the two names suggested as Cardinals' trade targets.

Valdez, especially, is someone he thinks would be high on the wish list for St. Louis.

"The bigger fish that the Cardinals would surely like to add to their rotation is left-hander Framber Valdez, who's posted a 3.68 ERA this season and has one more year of control following this season. Valdez has been with the Astros for years now and is used to the high-stakes environments of October and has found himself in the Cy Young race a number of times in his career."

It seems very unlikely that Houston would want to trade Valdez. He has become a key part of the rotation and is still in his prime at 30 years old.

However, most players have a price tag. If the Cardinals were to get extremely aggressive, they might convince the Astros to pull the trigger on either Verlander or Valdez.

Obviously, this is complete speculation. There have been no concrete reports about these two teams being interested in becoming trade partners.

With all of that being said, Houston first has to decide if it is going to trade talent or try to acquire it. If they opt to sell, the Astros could be a very good fit for St. Louis in potential trade discussions.