The Houston Astros are in a tough spot right now. They have a competitive team that's built to win in a big way, but their stars haven't been great. And if the stars aren't great, how far can this team actually go?
Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez are the two stars in question. Neither have lived up to their billing so far this season; in fact, both have a negative WAR at this point. While this is a tough pill to swallow, it could be a good thing: If the Astros can win without these two stars performing well, they might really take off when Alvarez and Altuve get going.
But the Astros still need to improve their roster. They could look to call up a few top prospects or they could explore the trade market. There are holes to fill on this team, and the front office will likely be aggressive if Houston remains locked in a postseason race.
But there's one major issue with the roster right now that the Astros can't afford to wait on fixing.
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The Astros should cut ties with César Salazar this month
Right now, the Astros are rostering three catchers. While Yainer Diaz and Victor Caratini are valuable members of the Astros who both provide the team with offensive and defensive production, the third, César Salazar, doesn't provide much of anything besides an additional player on the depth chart.
There aren't many scenarios in baseball where you will need your third-string catcher in a game. Maybe if a team has one catching and one in the designated hitter slot, an injury or substitution could put them in a spot to need a third body. But it's very uncommon.
Yet the Astros are using a roster spot on Salazar. He's played in 25 games over two seasons in the big leagues and hasn't done much to stay there. He has a career OPS+ of 65 with a slugging percentage of under .300.
This roster spot could be used to hold another pitcher or a valuable depth option in the infield. The Astros need to send Salazar back to the Minor Leagues to make room in the big leagues for a more valuable piece.