The Houston Astros have been one of baseball's most disappointing teams this season. Though they have been playing much better baseball as of late, they still are six games below the .500 mark at 19-25.
If the Astros can't fully recover from their dreadful start, they may end up being sellers at the trade deadline and punting on the 2024 season. If they do end up doing that, it's always possible that they could end up dealing right-hander and future Hall-of-Famer Justin Verlander.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post proposed the idea of Houston trading Verlander and listed the Chicago Cubs as a team he might accept a trade to.
Is Justin Verlander to the Cubs a possibility?
The Cubs are a team that made some big moves in the offseason, and they are benefitting from those moves. Their biggest acquisition was the signing of left-hander Shota Imanaga, who is putting together a Cy Young-caliber season and could even find himself in the conversation for National League Rookie of the Year.
Justin Steele has returned from his injury, and if the Cubs can piece together a dream rotation with Imanaga, Steele, and Verlander, they would instantly become World Series contenders and could possibly even usurp the Milwaukee Brewers at the top of the NL Central.
The Astros might not get a huge haul in return, but they would at the very least get some solid prospects and even possibly somebody off of the Cubs' Major League roster.
Pieces like Cubs No. 4 prospect Matt Shaw and infielder Michael Busch could help the Astros now and in the future. Shaw is a third baseman, and Busch can play both third base and first base. The Astros are having some difficulties at the first base position with Jose Abreu struggling and may end up losing Alex Bregman in free agency this coming offseason.
This is a trade that could benefit both sides. The Cubs would be getting a proven postseason pitcher, while the Astros would be stocking up for the future.
We'll see how things shake out from now until the trade deadline, but if the Astros are still struggling, this is a move they could make in order to hit the reset button, while the Cubs are setting their sights on the postseason.