3 trades Astros must make in response to Mariners-Randy Arozarena strike

The Houston Astros chased the Seattle Mariners down in the AL West, passing them for the lead in the division. The Mariners have fallen back in the standings quite a bit over the last few weeks. As a result, they decided to strike early and strike hard at the trade deadline. They made a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays to acquire their outfielder Randy Arozarena.

Now the Astros have to respond to this Mariners deal. There are a few rumblings surrounding where the Astros are looking to upgrade ahead of the trade deadline. Houston will be very active in the coming days.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, and join the discord to get the inside scoop as we near the July 30 MLB trade deadline.

3. Astros should target RHP Cal Quantrill of the Colorado Rockies

The Houston Astros are going to be in the market for a starting pitcher in the coming days. Nailing down which starting pitcher they will like the most is going to be the tough part. There are options like Jack Flaherty, Garrett Crochet and Frankie Montas that will all be available before the July 30 trade deadline.

But I believe that the Astros will fall in love with Cal Quantrill from the Colorado Rockies.

Quantrill, 29, has an ERA right around 4.00 with a WHIP of 1.34. He has the misfortune of pitching half of his games in the hitter-friendly Coors Field. Even then, Quantrill's ERA is slightly better at home than he is away. He has an additional year of arbitration on his contract which increases the interest in him.

The Rockies starter has thrown well this year and he comes with team control. He also wouldn't be the most expensive option on the market this year meaning the Astros could look to add a ton more beyond just him.

I'd fully expect Houston to be in the market for one of the mid tier starters in the coming days. They won't be aggressive enough to add a name like Garrett Crochet, but they will definitely be looking to add an arm.

2. Astros can trade for an All-Star in Isaac Paredes of the Tampa Bay Rays

The Astros will be in the market for an infielder and that is not really in question. The Tampa Bay Rays have already begun their fire sale of MLB talent beginning with Aaron Civale and now moving onto Randy Arozarena to the Mariners. The Astros could look to the same team that the Mariners added from to acquire the infield talent they need.

Isaac Paredes is a good place to start for the Astros. He has three additional years of arbitration on his contract and is still just 25 years old. The youth and team control will add up to making him quite the valuable asset for the Astros to pursue.

Paredes, 25, is slashing .250/.353/.444 with 16 home runs and 19 doubles. He also has an elite strikeout rate and an even better walk rate. Houston needs a first baseman to upgrade over Jon Singleton and Paredes fits with them on so many different levels.

He would be an expensive upgrade to try to acquire, but the rumors are pointing in that direction. I wouldn't be surprised to see Paredes dealt in the coming days and the Astros make sense from a fit standpoint.

1. Astros can go back to the well with the Rays and Yandy Diaz

Isaac Paredes isn't the only Tampa Bay infielder that the Astros are looking into. Houston also has their eyes on Yandy Diaz. Diaz has two additional years on his contract after 2024.

Diaz, 32, is slashing an impressive .273/.329/.396 with 21 doubles and eight home runs through 381 at-bats this year. More impressively, the Rays infielder slashed .330/.410/.522 with 35 doubles and 22 home runs en route to a Silver Slugger award and MVP votes. The veteran infielder has really turned it up over these last few years.

And the Astros are eyeing him as a potential fit this season. Houston's first baseman, Jon Singleton, just isn't cutting it for the Astros this season. They still have a bad taste in their mouth from the failed Jose Abreu experiment which has spilled over onto Singleton and his lackluster play.

If Houston is looking to distance themselves in the AL West, they need to make a deal for one of these two Rays infielders. Given the age and the contract situations between the two options, Diaz makes more sense because he would be a much cheaper option. The Astros could likely acquire him without parting ways with any of their top, highly coveted prospects.