New Houston Astros Trade Idea Buys Low On Embattled Pittsburgh Pirates Slugger

The Houston Astros could find some serious value in trading for the bat of the a struggling player with a lot of promise from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Sep 26, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Bryan De La Cruz (41) circles the bases on a two run home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the seventh inning at PNC Park. The Brewers won 5-2. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros need offensive help in the outfield and will need find a value-forward option in the trade market to do so.

One such player is Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Bryan De La Cruz.

He was a deadline addition last year for the Pirates and saw a sharp decline in play after the deal was made.

Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report now has De La Cruz as the most likely Pittsburgh player to be shipped out this winter.

That leaves the Astros open to swoop in and grab a player who still has a bit of potential for a low price. A possible deal between the two teams could see Houston send prospects Zach Cole and Jackson Nezuh to the Pirates in exchange for the struggling slugger.

De La Cruz posted a disappointing .200/220/.294 slash line over the final 44 games of the 2024 season. It may seem odd to trade for a guy coming off of such a cold stretch, but just a few months ago, he was on All-Star alert and on the verge of a potential 30-plus home run campaign.

Over the first 105 games of the year as a member of the Miami Marlins, he had a much better slash line of .245/.289/.417 with 18 home runs and 51 RBI.

He was one of the few players worth watching in the Marlins lineup this past season.

The 27-year-old debuted back in 2021 and still has a lot of room to grow. If The Astros can get his development turned back around into a positive direction, they could find a serious value with him.

Going back to Jake Meyers, Mauricio Dubon and Chas McCormick alongside Kye Tucker would simply not be acceptable for Houston next season, so they will need to be proactive in upgrading the lineup.

While they don't have a ton of trade capital in their farm system, they could combine a couple of prospects to entice a team.

Cole is kind of the opposite of De La Cruz.

He's an incredible defensive presence who can steal bases but doesn't have much promise at the plate.

Even if the 24-year-old gets called up next year, that isn't the type of player the Astros need right now.

Nezuh looksed solid in his first professional campaign with a 4.19 ERA and 11.3 K/9.

He is already looking more refined than he did in college, so Houston could do a quick flip of the prospect while the value is growing.