The Houston Astros have been one of the best stories in Major League Baseball this season. Their resilience and ability to succeed despite so many injuries is astounding. After losing Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker this offseason, nobody thought they would have one of the best records in baseball and sit atop the American League comfortably.
Now, they have just three players in their lineup who were in the Opening Day lineup, having to plug and play guys each day. They have also seen great contributions from their young prospects like Cam Smith and Brice Matthews.
With just three days until the July 31st deadline, the Astros are looking to improve their roster and add a left-handed hitter in some capacity, and the Minnesota Twins might be a potential suitor.
Astros Are Reportedly Targeting Twins’ Utilityman
Minnesota are one of the most interesting teams this deadline, as it seems they have all the tradable assets that contending teams want, but they may be holding onto the players that are controllable past this season and just shopping guys on expiring contracts. Twins switch-hitter Willi Castro, who is on an expiring contract, is likely on the trade block.
The Houston Astros have reportedly shown interest in Castro, who does fit the bill of a “left-handed bat”, but he actually hits from both sides.
Mark Polishuk of MLBtraderumors.com broke down the Astros’ desire to acquire a lefty hitter and what it might take to get a deal done:
“Now in his third straight year of above-average offensive production, Castroâs 116 wRC+ â from a .254/.342/.423 slash line and 10 homers in 331 plate appearances â projects as his best over a full season. Castroâs career splits are pretty much even, though this season has seen him hit considerably better as a right-handed hitter (.836 OPS in 94 PA) than from the left side of the plate (.739 OPS over 233 PA). A marked increase in slugging percentage is the biggest difference between the two splits, though there is the caveat of a pretty small sample size in 2025, in comparison to the wider measure of Castroâs entire seven-year MLB career.”
Even an average hitter from the left side would be a great improvement for the Astros, and the Twins’ Castro fits that mold. With Houston’s NINE position players on the injured list right now, Willi Castro fits the mold of a guy who can play anywhere on the diamond and brings along solid defense with him as well.
Astros Deadline Outlook
Despite all the injuries to their position players, the Houston Astros have been able to find success backed by a solid starting rotation and bullpen. They are almost certainly going to be playing baseball in October, so their biggest concern is getting healthy and preparing for the playoffs.
Yordan Alvarez is not showing any signs of real improvement, which has been a real sore spot, and is likely the main reason why Houston’s biggest need is a lefty bat.
Again, with just three days left until the trade deadline, time is running out, but the two wish list items for the Houston Astros are a lefty bat that can play the infield and maybe a depth starter.
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