With spring training rolling along for the Houston Astros, the new-look team is starting to get their reps in before the start of the campaign.
It has been a wild offseason for the Astros with some of the most notable moves coming from their team.
Despite losing two stars in Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman, the team still has high hopes for the 2025 season. With an excellent starting rotation led by Framber Valdez and a bullpen with Josh Hader as the closer, the team still has the ability to win a lot of games.
However, due to the changes this winter in the batting order, their lineup will have to prove that it can produce at a high level without their two departed stars.
In the trade for Tucker, the Astros did receive back a talented infielder in Isaac Paredes, who will be the starter at the hot corner more than likely.
Furthermore, in free agency, Houston signed first baseman Christian Walker and second baseman Brendan Rodgers. While Walker was a great addition to improve a position of need, the Rodgers signing could be an interesting that could relieve a logjam of talent.
With the desire to move Jose Altuve into the outfield, having a player like Rodgers who can fill multiple infield roles will be key.
While Altuve moving into the outfield is going to take time to see if it could work, Houston should be looking to add another player to help the unit.
One player who makes a ton of sense for them is former New York Yankees outfielder, Alex Verdugo. At just 28 years old, Verdugo is still in his prime, but he is coming off a down year with the Yankees.
In 2024, the left-handed slugger slashed 233/.291/.356 with 13 home runs and 61 RBI. The numbers were significantly down for Verdugo last season, especially in the doubles and batting average department.
However, at his age, there is plenty of reason to believe that he can bounce back. Currently, the outfield is an issue for the Astros, especially on offense, since they didn’t get a proper replacement for Tucker.
For a team that could also use a little bit of depth toward the bottom of the order, the 28-year-old makes a lot of sense to help lengthen the lineup as well.
Overall, as long as the price is right, the slugger makes a ton of sense for Houston to help improve their lineup and buy time to figure out Altuve’s potential move to the outfield.