How Astros trade could bolster lineup by doing the unthinkable

TRADE SZN

The Houston Astros reportedly have their trade deadline wishlist put together, and two players at the top of the list are Guardians' starting pitcher Shane Bieber and Marlins' outfielder/DH Jorge Soler.

While Soler makes sense for several reasons, a deep dive into Bieber's stats should give the Astros cause for pause. He's falling off significantly according to advanced stats, despite having a 3.57 ERA.

Another thing to question is whether manager Dusty Baker would play Soler enough to make the trade make sense. Yainer Diaz is clearly the better option than Martin Maldonado, but still rarely gets playing time.

We've seen this before from Baker. He wouldn't play Chas McCormick regularly which caused GM at the time, James Click, to trade Myles Straw to clear the way for McCormick. And let's not forget Baker rarely playing catcher Christian Vazquez last year after he was traded to Houston from the Red Sox.

With all this in mind, is there a scenario where Astros GM Dana Brown feels he has to trade Maldonado to get more opportunities for Diaz? Rumor has it that Justin Verlander would like to see Maldonado on the Mets.

You don't want to miss the video above as we lay out all the possible scenarios.

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Rockets defeat the Magic, 116-108. Photo by David Berding/Getty Images.

Jalen Green scored 26 points, Alperen Sengun had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets extended their winning streak to a season-best eight games, beating the Orlando Magic 116-108 on Wednesday night.

Fred VanVleet added 19 points for the Rockets, who maintained their second-place position in the Western Conference, ahead of — among others — the surging Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors.

Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 31 points. Franz Wagner added 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Magic, and reserve Goga Bitadze had 19 points and eight rebounds.

Takeaways

Rockets: Their streak included a six-game homestand. This was only their second road win since Jan. 28.

Magic: After nine losses in 13 games and six straight defeats at home, the Magic stand eighth in the East. Banchero has averaged 33 points over the last four games.

Key moment

Green and VanVleet made 3-pointers to open and close a 12-0 run late in the third quarter that left the Rockets with an 80-65 lead.

Key stat

The poorest free-throw shooting team in the NBA, the Rockets made 29 of 32 (90.6%) from the foul line.

Up next

Rockets: At Miami on Friday.

Magic: At Washington on Friday.

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