2 trades Houston Astros should avoid at trade deadline

A catcher

The Astros might be tempted to look for a catcher on the trade block given Martin Maldonado’s struggles as a batter this season. He’s a woeful .181/.269/.296 on the year.

Still, Maldonado brings valuable defense behind the plate and he’s picked up the pace offensively since the start of the season. It’s still not what Houston might want, but in June, he batted .217/.325/.348 with 12 RBI and nine walks. That’s an improvement, technically.

The Astros have also gotten Jason Castro back from a rehab assignment, so they finally have some depth behind Maldonado to work with. He’s covering for Maldonado while he’s on the bereavement list.

More than anything, Houston simply won’t find any value at catcher before the trade deadline. There are no high-value targets on the trade block, so the Astros would have to settle for a catcher with far less defensive value than Maldonado or one no better than Castro.

They’d get more out of looking for a centerfielder to challenge Myles Straw.