Houston Astros Should Take the Chance on This Proposed Blockbuster Trade
The Houston Astros had a very unlucky start to the 2024 season, but are slowly pulling themselves out of the mud.
They could further solidify their lineup by pulling off a blockbuster trade. The Athletic's Jim Bowden had one in mind that would certainly be intriguing for Houston.
In this trade, the Astros send first baseman/outfielder Joey Loperfido and outfielder Kenedy Corona to the Toronto Blue Jays in return for superstar first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Guerrero is set to become an unrestricted free agent after next season, with Toronto yet to sign him to an extension. If they decide to maximize their value for him and trade him sooner-rather-than-later, Houston should absolutely take advantage of the chance.
A lot was made of the legacy slugger's slow start to this season, but he is heating back up as of late.
In the month of May, he is slashing .313/.389/.536 with a grand slam to show for it.
Digging deeper into his numbers, there's only one big difference in his approach this year as opposed to the rest of his career. He's striking out a lot more, but he is also walking a lot more. The ratio hasn't changed much, but he's just doing more of each.
He is swinging at balls outside of the zone less, but when he does, he's missing them at a much higher rate than before. His contact% on pitches outside of the zone, had been hovering around 57% over the last couple of season. In 2024, he's plummeted down to 35.7%.
Overall, though, he should likely return back to form and this recent hot stretch is a good sign of things to come.
In terms of what they give up in this trade, it's not that much.
Loperfido lit the minor leagues on fire to start the year, hitting 13 home runs in his first 35 games. It's still early into his MLB career, but the power hasn't translated over his first five games as he has yet to record an extra base hit.
With the Houston rookie being the same age as Guerrero, the proven option is likely the better one to take for a team hoping to claw back into the playoffs. You also don't sacrifice getting a lot younger at first base. The biggest loss is that Guerrero doesn't offer the same corner outfield versatility.
Corona is the No. 12 overall prospect in the Astro's pipeline and is another player that is expendable. He is slugging just .185/.340/.309 to start the year in AA ball.
The two sides also recently completed a trade involving relief pitcher Joel Kuhnel, so there is a bit of a working relationship between the two front offices.
DYLAN SANDERS
Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders