The Houston Astros will be buyers at the MLB trade deadline. But that doesn’t mean they can’t ship off some of their veteran players to help plug other holes on their roster. With teams around baseball looking for outfield help, including the Astros, the seller’s market for outfielders will be strong.
Fortunately, while the Astros will likely have to overpay to land a left fielder, they also have an outfielder of their own who is drawing trade interest. According to Will Kunkel, formerly of Fox 26 Houston, on Twitter/X, Astros outfielder Chas McCormick is drawing trade interest from teams around the league.
There are teams that have interest in Astros OF Chas McCormick, per sources.
Teams believe that if he got regular ABs he would be a good contributor.
2023 Chas McCormick:
.273 AVG
.842 OPS
22 HR
70 RBIs
19 SBs— Will Kunkel (@WillKunkelV) June 14, 2025
With the need for outfielders strong in today’s MLB, McCormick’s drawing trade interest isn’t a surprise. He’s shown the ability to be a high-profile outfielder, even if it hasn’t come to fruition in recent years.
Houston, looking for starting pitching and more bullpen help, could use McCormick to flip to a team that has a pitcher for sale. McCormick is the prototypical outfielder a rebuilding team could utilize, as he’s not only exciting, but still young enough that there could be something there.
At 30 years old, McCormick is still likely to be a contributor on an MLB roster. While he’s currently on the 10-day injured list, McCormick, the moment he’s activated, would draw significant trade interest. He’s already getting attention from teams around the league, so his availability wouldn’t be shocking.
In 2025, McCormick had only 43 at-bats and had 11 hits and six runs scored. His OPS through 36 games as a bench bat is .649, second lowest in his career. His 2024 season OPS of .576 was the worst, but right before then, McCormick was playing his best ball.
McCormick in 2023 was a great outfielder for the Astros. His .842 OPS and 3.4 WAR season are a huge reason why teams would be interested in the veteran Astros outfielder. After the 2025 season, McCormick has one more year of team control left, so his trade value is also higher than other players in his same range.
While there aren’t any specific teams named, McCormick’s drawing trade interest should be something the Astros pounce on. With a need in left field, trading away an outfielder might not make a ton of sense. But, with the idea of getting a significant upgrade in mind, sending McCormick away for help elsewhere is a smart decision that the Astros could make in the build-up to the MLB trade deadline.
