Astros Are Now One of MLB's Biggest Deadline Wild Cards

One thing that has been true about the trade market across Major League Baseball this season is that it has been odd, to say the least.

It feels like a perfect storm. Baseball is completely up in the air beyond the 2026 Major League Baseball season with the collective bargaining agreement between the league and Major League Baseball Players Association set to expire after the season. Negotiations have begun between the two sides, but progress has not been made. So, baseball is already in an odd spot. Then you add in the fact that there are three Wild Card teams in each league and the American League in general has been bad this season and there aren't a lot of clear sellers.

The Houston Astros, for example, are 37-42 on the season but aren't thinking about selling pieces at all. In fact, USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported that the Astros have told teams that they are "wasting their time" asking about shortstop Jeremy Peña and first baseman Christian Walker and that they are planning to buy.

Who Is Going To Sell Off Pieces This Summer?

May 19, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; A general view of a Houston Astros hat and glove in the dugout during the fifth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

"The Houston Astros have told teams that they are wasting their time asking about shortstop Jeremy Peña and first baseman Christian Walker," Nightengale wrote. "They may be a sub-.500 team, but plan to be buyers at the deadline, not sellers, in a division in which only the Seattle Mariners are above .500. They are searching for bullpen help and a left-handed hitting outfielder."

In past seasons, a team like Houston would certainly be viewed as a seller. The Astros are five games below .500 and have the third-worst team ERA in baseball at 4.84. The Astros have a good offense, but by pretty much every other measure, this isn't a contender. But they are going to try to buy rather than sell.

It's certainly going to be interesting to see how the deadlien is going to play out this year if this is already a story out there. Outside of Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers, there hasn't really been many clear candidates talked about as trade chips. The Boston Red Sox have a few guys, like Sonny Gray and Aroldis Chapman, but are they going to sell? The same can be said about Freddy Peralta of the New York Mets. The trade market is a bit odd right now, to say the least.

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