Astros GM Dana Brown is looking for outfield help. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images.
It's no secret to Astros fans that offensive production has been almost nonexistent in Houston's outfield for most of the season. Outside of games in which Yordan Alvarez plays left field, the Astros have struggled to get anything going.
That's why the return of Kyle Tucker is so important for the 'Stros. Going into Monday's game against the Phillies, here are the batting averages for three of the outfield options over the last 30 days.
Jake Meyers is hitting .198, Mauricio Dubon .176, and Chas McCormick is sitting at .111.
Which is why we've seen the club add Ben Gamel recently, who's actually done a decent job with his limited opportunities.
Clearly the front office isn't satisfied with the outfield group, as MLB.com's Brian McTaggart is reporting that the Astros are close to signing left-handed veteran outfielder, Jason Heyward.
Source: Astros are close to signing OF Jason Heyward, who was released by the Dodgers.
Heyward, 35, slashed .208/.289/.393 with six homers and 28 RBIs in 63 games with L.A.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) August 27, 2024
McTaggart shared some of his numbers in the post below.
Heyward hit .208 with six homers and a .682 OPS in 63 games with Los Angeles this season and also dealt with injuries that limited his availability. That followed a 2023 season in which he enjoyed somewhat of a career rebound, hitting .269 with 15 homers and an .813 OPS after…
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) August 27, 2024
Let's just hope this signing has nothing to do with the Astros' optimism about Tucker returning fully healthy this season.
Marcus Semien hit his 250th career home run and Adolis García also went deep to back up a strong start by Nathan Eovaldi and give the Texas Rangers a 5-1, series clinching victory over the Houston Astros on Sunday.
Eovaldi (7-3) limited Houston to five hits and a run with eight strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings for his third straight win.
Houston starter Hunter Brown (9-4) allowed five hits and four runs while striking out eight in five innings as the AL West leaders lost for the fifth time in six games. It was the second straight tough outing for the All-Star, who gave up a season-high six runs in his last start against Cleveland.
Wyatt Langford walked to open the second and the Rangers made it 1-0 when he scored on a triple by Evan Carter. There were two outs in the inning when Carter scored on a ground-rule double by Ezequiel Duran to push the lead to 2-0.García’s third homer in the last four games put Texas ahead 3-0 with two outs in the third inning.
Carter doubled to start the fourth and Kyle Higashioka singled before Carter scored on a sacrifice fly by Alejandro Osuna to make it 4-0.
The Astros cut it to 4-1 on a home run by Zack Short with no outs in the sixth inning.
Semien’s shot with one out in the eighth inning was his second of the series and gave him 250 in his 13-year career.
Key moment
Texas jumping on Brown for two runs in the second inning to take the lead for good.
Key stat
García’s 20 home runs against the Astros since 2021 are the most of any player in that span.
Up next
The Astros open the second half of the season Friday night at Seattle, and the Rangers host Detroit on the same night.
