EVERY-THING SPORTS
For the Houston Astros, almost everyone's got a price
Jul 21, 2023, 3:45 pm
EVERY-THING SPORTS
“Everybody's gotta price for the Million Dollar Man! HAHAHAHAHA!” This was Ted DiBiase Sr's catchphrase as the Million Dollar Man in the 80s and 90s WWE. His character was an evil rich guy who used his money, power, and influence to get his way. The premise was simple: anybody can be bought. The other day, I gave you three Astros I would not trade at the deadline under any circumstances. Today, I'm giving you three guys I'd consider trading, under the right circumstances. Let's take a look:
Kyle Tucker: Outside of Yordan Alvarez, Tucker is the best hitter on this team. The smooth swinging lefty once earned the nickname “Ted” for his swing resembling that of Ted Williams. He's also greatly improved as an outfielder. Just when you think he's going to let a ball drop, he catches up to it and ends up on SportsCenter. He's 26, getting paid $5 million this season, and has two more years of arbitration left after this year. A young, top talent under team control and on a cheap salary should attract some interest.
Hunter Brown: It's better to give than to receive. Some team out there is looking for a salary exchange. They'd love to trade that high dollar starting pitcher or bullpen stud for a 24-year-old starter with electric stuff and under team control for several more years. Brown is the type of guy a team looking to save money would LOVE to have! I know this team could use another arm to go with Brown and the others. Would you rather have Brown with a lower chance of another ring, or whatever player in return and a higher shot a another championship? Give me the better odds at winning another ring. Those memories are stronger and longer lasting than fond memories of a random player.
Jeremy Peña: Who doesn't want a former World Series and ALCS MVP?!? At 25 and under team control for a few more years, Peña is in rarefied air. Not many in the game's history can claim to have his accolades after their rookie season. His future is brighter than the sun when traveling north on 59 near the Chimney Rock exit around 2pm. He's a jack of all trades in that he does everything pretty good. Can he improve? Sure. But this kid is special and wants to continue to get better.
“We need another arm!” “This lineup needs another bat!”
I've seen and heard the different arguments. I've also seen and heard the most preposterous trade proposals. You can't trade for a guy like Shohei Otani and give them your plumber, a Chinese food wing dinner, and four used pairs of lawn work shoes. You also can't trade a guy you can't stand and/or has little to no value for an All Star. It's better to give than to receive. When you give up more, you get more in return. How bad do you want to see another parade downtown? Personally, I don't like the crowds, but I love the joy on others' faces. I particularly enjoy the looks on faces when I'm out of town or post a pic wearing Astros gear. Since we all agree that moves have to be made, can we all agree that we need to swing for the fences?
I get it. These guys are young, very talented, and still cheap. When they're eligible, they're going to want to get paid. Will their demands match their production? Will keeping them lead to another ring? Is it the sentimental value that's forcing you to hold onto them? Trading them doesn't guarantee another ring, but I think it'll give you a better shot if the right guys are traded for. And now, we wait…
Houston center fielder Jake Meyers was removed from Wednesday night’s game against Cleveland during pregame warmups because of right calf tightness.
Meyers, who had missed the last two games with a right calf injury, jogged onto the field before the game but soon summoned the training staff, who joined him on the field to tend to him. He remained on the field on one knee as manager Joe Espada joined the group. After a couple minutes, Meyers got up and was helped off the field and to the tunnel in right field by a trainer.
Mauricio Dubón moved from shortstop to center field and Zack Short entered the game to replace Dubón at shortstop.
Meyers is batting .308 with three homers and 21 RBIs this season.
After the game, Meyers met with the media and spoke about the injury. Meyers declined to answer when asked if the latest injury feels worse than the one he sustained Sunday. Wow, that is not a good sign.
Asked if this calf injury feels worse than the one he sustained on Sunday, Jake Meyers looked toward a team spokesman and asked "do I have to answer that?" He did not and then politely ended the interview.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 10, 2025
Lack of imaging strikes again!
The Athletic's Chandler Rome reported on Thursday that the Astros didn't do any imaging on Meyers after the initial injury. You can't make this stuff up. This is exactly the kind of thing that has the Astros return-to-play policy under constant scrutiny.
The All-Star break is right around the corner, why take the risk in playing Meyers after missing just two games with calf discomfort? The guy literally fell to the ground running out to his position before the game started. The people that make these risk vs. reward assessments clearly are making some serious mistakes.
The question remains: will the Astros finally do something about it?