Despite all of the roster turnover over the years, the Houston Astros continue to stay near the top of the AL West standings. As of Tuesday, June 17, the Astros are 41-31 on the year and hold a 4.5 game lead over the Seattle Mariners for first place in the division. With that, the Astros are putting themselves in prime position to buy at the July 31 trade deadline.
Who could the Astros bring in, you may ask? Well, The Athletic's Jim Bowden recently suggested that the team bring in more left-handed hitting. Bowden listed Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe as his "favorite target" for the Astros.
"The Astros could use another left-handed hitter in their lineup. Enter Lowe, who has a 110 OPS+ and 13 home runs this season," writes Bowden. "He could become the Astros’ everyday second baseman, allowing Jose Altuve to spend all of his time in left field, which is where he should be playing at this stage of his career. Lowe’s contract includes an $11.5 million team option for 2026, so the Astros could control him for two postseason runs. Tampa Bay always needs to get younger and is always open to trading players, like Lowe, when they near free agency."
While that's all well and good, Lowe is becoming a less and less likely trade target by the day for the Astros.
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Astros' potential trade deadline target Brandon Lowe becoming less likely by the day
So why is Lowe becoming a less likely trade target for the Astros? Well, because of how well the Rays are playing this season.
The Rays are fresh off of a three-game sweep of the New York Mets, and it wasn't particularly close. Tampa Bay outscored the Mets 24-9. Then, the Rays picked up a gigantic 7-1 win over the rival Baltimore Orioles on Monday night. With that, the Rays are 40-32 on the year.
To make matters better for the Rays, they watched the Yankees get swept by the Boston Red Sox this past weekend, where they were held to just four runs in three games. Then, on Monday, they lost 1-0 in 11 innings to the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night. Now, the Yankees' once strong lead in the AL East is down to 2.5 games, with the Rays sitting in second place.
If the Rays keep their play up, why on Earth would they trade Lowe? If anything, the Rays should buy at the trade deadline to help with teir push for a postseason berth.
That would sting for the Astros, as Lowe makes so much sense for them. The Astros' starting lineup only has one left-handed hitter, and that's Yordan Alvarez. Other than that, the batting order is primarily right-handed. Lowe would give the Astros an additional left-handed bat they desperately need, and help bolster their infield at second base.
This year, Lowe recorded a .260 batting average, a .311 on-base percentage, a .457 slugging percentage, 14 home runs, 39 RBI, 42 runs, and 67 hits in 258 at-bats (67 games).
Look, there's still plenty of time until the July 31 trade deadline, but as of now, it looks unlikely Lowe would be shopped at the trade deadline due to the Rays' success so far this season.