3 trade deadline targets Houston Astros should be considering

After four unsuccessful years of trying to make it as the Colorado Rockies backstop, Murphy was given a chance to play in Seattle, and he made the most of it, mashing a solid 18 home runs in only 75 games while totaling 2.7 WAR. Extrapolating those numbers out to a full 162 game season would have given Murphy 39 home runs and 86 RBIs, all the while playing above-average defense. Even after all their success, the Astros still have a solid farm system that they can and should be willing to decimate if it meant that they can plug up positions of need with some of the best available players on the market.

Acquiring an impact player that is just 29 years old from a division rival might be tricky, but Jerry Dipoto would trade his grandmother if he got enough Double-A prospects in return. A better offensive catcher as compared to incumbent Martin Maldonado, inserting him into the lineup late in the season would give Houston a catcher that opposing pitchers will actually need to take seriously. Even better, Murphy’s age and relative inexperience could prevent Houston from parting with an elite prospect like Forrest Whitley or Cristian Javier to fix their catcher woes.