For the Astros, general manager Dana Brown has been pretty clear all along. Despite early struggles and a raft of devastating pitching injuries that have threatened to send the 2024 season permanently adrift, the front office is not preparing to wave any white flags and start selling off players. That’s not how team owner Jim Crane has operated to date, and there’s no sign he will start now.
There are reasons to be hopeful. The Astros bottomed out at 12-24 on May 8, but have bounced back since, going 16-11 despite the injuries in the rotation. The Mariners are atop the A.L. West, but they have hardly been gangbusters, at seven games over .500. Houston is only seven games away from catching them, and with the Astros’ string of seven straight years in the MLB postseason, this is a team that knows how to navigate rocky stretches.
Still, the Astros are seven games below .500 and announced this week that starters Cristian Javier and Jose Urquidy would be out for the rest of the season with elbow surgery. Not great for a team that has the fifth-worst ERA in all of baseball, at 4.71.
The Astros will be in the market for pitching. But don’t rule out a gutsy gamble on a slugger, too. According to New York Post insider Jon Heyman, speaking on a Bleacher Report live stream, the Astros are one of the contenders to land Mets slugger Pete Alonso, at least as a short-term rental.
Pete Alonso Trade ‘Makes Sense’ in Houston
Alonso, of course, is a 29-year-old three-time All-Star in the meat of his career. He has been putting up his usual power numbers, though his production has been slowed by the disastrous start the Mets have had in general this season.
Alonso has 14 homers and 31 RBI, with a slash line of .238/.315/.477. But the Mets could be headed toward a fire sale, and Alonso is a pending free agent.
