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Writer's pictureLarryTheGM

Astros: Let's Make a Deal for 1B

Updated: Jul 20

Some say the Astros need to make a deal to get an upgrade at 1B. Who should they get? What would it take? Discover at that here at LarryTheGM!


We promised that when we hit the All-Star Break that we would be all over the Astros trade deadline. We are.


Clint discussed the big picture here.




I defined the Astros trade deadline needs.




We went through the roster and defined who could be traded and their relative values.



We will be live tonight talking about all of this and more at 8pm. Don’t miss it.



In the trade deadline needs article I said this:


However, the above data does show a significant issue for Singleton. Even in his good periods, Jon has NOT been good vs. LHP.

...

I think the Astros are going to be evaluating 1B very hard in the next 10-14 days. It is probable they will go after a RHH 1B. Who? Stay tuned. More on that this week.


I will say this. To actually make an impact at 1B, the player the Astros could/ will target at 1B needs to be able to produce at a very high level. My first pass filters are in the range of over 0.790 OPS, 120 wRC+, 0.340ish wOBA/ xwOBA.


In summary, the goal is to find a 1B who can be GREAT vs. LHP and good vs. RHP. This 1B would likely play 95-100% of games vs. LHP and 60-80% of games vs. RHP. This would allow Singleton and Alvarez to both play vs. RHP. Singleton would likely sit vs. most LHP.


So, let's make a deal for the Astros at 1B. What would it take?


I started with a list of 42 players who played 1B in 2023-2024. I set a filter to get this list for players with at LEAST 100 PA vs. RHP and 100 PA vs. LHP.


My Filters

  1. >0.790 OPS vs. LHP

  2. >0.750 OPS vs. RHP

  3. >0.340 wOBA/xwOBA vs. LHP


This results in THIS NINE 1B

The players whose teams are in black are not likely to be traded.


Here are the details of the five 1B that can make a difference.

Steer is not an option with his 52.2 Trade Value.


Here are the deep dive stats for the four 1B remaining in 2023-2024.

Here are the 2024 Rest of Season projections for the four.

All are great.


IF any of these deals get done probably has more to do with the Salary than anything. Do the Astros make a trade for SP help and how much does that player(s) cost in payroll?


My choice would be the lowest cost non-rental Yandy Diaz.


What will it take to get Yandy? Here is an idea.



We have shopped at the caviar section of the 1B market. Next time we will explore lower cost, higher risk, and probably lower impact options that are probably more realistic for our Houston Astros.

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