An Astros-Mets trade to go all-in replacing Jose Abreu after his release

Houston Astros first baseman Jose Abreu was finally put out of his misery on Friday, as the right-handed hitter was slashing just .124/.167/.195, good for a .361 OPS. Despite spending time in the Astros minor-league system and saying all the right things during a complicated process, Abreu did not improve and fell into his old ways at the plate all too quickly upon his return to the majors.

Abreu isn't the only person to blame for his mistakes -- some of that falls on the Astros hitting instructors for not getting the most out of him. More of the blame should be placed on Joe Espada for continuing to run out a broken hitter time and time again, further destroying his confidence in the process. However, Dana Brown risked his job by letting Abreu walk, as owner Jim Crane will have to wat the remainder of Abreu's contract as a result.

“We’ve been talking about it over the last week or so,” Brown said. “Ultimately, Abreu is an outstanding human being. He’s had an outstanding career. We tried different things to get him going, like sending him down. As we talked through the process this week, we felt like it was time to make a change.”

Astros GM Dana Brown should trade for Pete Alonso to save his job

Brown, in the midst of the toughest season of his career as a front-office executive, faces a crossroads. Either Houston can turn things around by the trade deadline and solidifies its status as a buyer, or Brown tears a contender down for parts by dealing intriguing assets like Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, Justin Verlander and more.

Assuming the Astros want to buy -- and they remain the AL West and AL Wild Card conversation -- a popular target will be New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso. Houston has some internal answers to replace Abreu in Jon Singleton and even Joey Loperfido should they choose, but Alonso trumps both, even as a rental. Here's what a trade might look like.

As enticing as Loperfido and the top-4 in the Houston system are, Alonso is just a rental. Unless the Mets opt to throw in another player with MLB experience, the Astros would be wise not to trade the entire farm for Alonso, who could very well leave them in free agency this winter.

Still, Cole and Gordon are top-10 prospects in the Astros system, and both close to MLB ready. Even Knorr, a top-20 prospect, is 22 and pitching in Double-A. New York isn't that far away from its competitive window with Steve Cohen at the helm. Adding some pivotal pieces while also keeping an Alonso free-agent deal in play makes sense from the Mets perspective.