Why Trading Jake Meyers Might Be the Astros’ Smartest Move Right Now

The Houston Astros outfield is growing oversaturated with young players making the jump to the big leagues, and Jake Meyers should be the one to leave to create other opportunities for them.

Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Outfielders are in a bit of an abundance, especially for the Houston Astros. It's getting to the point where keeping their outfielders provides an imbalance in overall playing time for players who need it. Some of these young players exude enormous talent and hit for power, namely Zach Cole, Cam Smith, Zach Dezenzo, and Jacob Melton.

These outfielders will be less than 26 years old heading into the 2026 season, and aside from Cam Smith, have yet to receive opportunities to contribute because there are too many veteran outfielders clogging up the field. Namely, Jake Meyers.

Out With The Old, In With The New

The Astros missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016. The overall roster they have in the lineup is playoff-bound on paper, but paper isn't reality. The roster needs to get younger to supplement key veteran pieces in Carlos Correa, Christian Walker, Yordan Alvarez, and the aging Jose Altuve, who will turn 36 next year.

How do they make this happen? Get rid of players who haven't made much of an impact on the team but still possess trade value. Meyers had ample opportunities to be an integral part of the young core, like former Astros outfielders George Springer, Kyle Tucker, and Alex Bregman before him.

Meyers' Unfortunate Setback

He had a strong showing in his rookie season during the final stretch of the 2021 season and into the American League Division Series against the Chicago White Sox. Unfortunately, this stretch fell short, due to tearing his labrum in his shoulder while slamming against the outside wall, vying to catch a fly ball in Game 4.

Meyers came back that following year after surgery but never regained his form until 2025, suffering from mental blocks for a few seasons, failing to perform respectable numbers at the dish, yet displaying elite defense in center field. The former Nebraska Cornhusker had a 6.25 DRS over the last three years, playing an average of 118 games.

Astros Need To Look At Trade Value

According to Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors, Houston's received a "fair bit of trade interest" for Meyers. Last season was his best year at the plate, hitting .292 with a .727 OPS with a 103 OPS+ in 381 at-bats. The 29-year old was injured for almost a third of the season, and wasn't able to reach high numbers in the home run department, which is now commonplace for MLB outfielders today.

Former Astros and World Series Champion right fielder Josh Reddick came on the Crush City Territory Podcast with Chandler Rome and Tyler Stafford and entertained the idea of trading Jake Meyers:

"I think Jake Meyers is probably at his highest point for a trade. It makes sense to see what you can get in return for him. It think it would be best, for a business decision to see [Jake] Meyers get traded."

Josh Reddick, former Astros outfielder

Exploring what a Jake Meyers trade could yield might be the best business decision for the Astros, says @JRedDubDeuce. pic.twitter.com/N8dhtKs69L

— Crush City Territory (@Crush_City_Pod) November 25, 2025

Meyers is set to play his sixth season in the majors and will be turning 30 years old. He is older than the majority of the young outfielders on the 40-man roster. His last season with Houston provides solid trade value for what teams need in a borderline gold glove defensive outfielder with some occasional pop at the dish. Not only that, he is under club control until 2028, which provides longevity for teams looking for a center fielder to slide in their lineup.

Focus On Young Core Helping Veterans

Dana Brown should capitalize on trading with Meyers' value right now, because it's unlikely that it will get any higher. With small sample sizes in Cole, Dezenzo, and Melton, all displaying immense power at the plate last year, Brown's 40-man roster has a plethora of pieces to choose from as a primary replacement.

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