What’s going on with the Houston Astros’ offense?
One might have successfully predicted that the Astros would take a step back after losing Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker, but that didn’t mean their stars had to struggle like this. Yainer Diaz, Christian Walker, José Altuve, and Yordan Alvarez all have OPS+ figures under 100.
Alvarez is also on the injured list with a hand injury, and although he appears to be in the latter stages of his recovery, it’s not certain when he’ll be back. And even if he’s firing on all cylinders, Houston lacks a second left-handed power bat now that Tucker is gone.
To fix that problem and catapult the Astros back into the driver’s seat for their own playoff destiny, one baseball analyst sees them adding a big lefty bat at the 2025 trade deadline.
In a recent YouTube video, Jim Riley of BALLCAP Sports predicted that the Astros would trade for Baltimore Orioles first baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn, who is having a fantastic year ahead of his free agency this winter.
“Give me the Houston Astros to land Ryan O’Hearn,” Riley said. “You move Altuve to second. You balance out the lineup. Right now, Yordan Alvarez is the only lefty bat that makes you sweat in that lineup.
Follow The Sporting News On WhatsApp
“Grab another one. O’Hearn would be the way to go.”
The 31-year-old O’Hearn makes sense for the Astros on a few levels. He’s got a .956 OPS this year, which is well over his career-high of .801 (excluding his brief rookie tenure). He’s also a good fit for Minute Maid Park’s left field, which doesn’t require much range.
With the Orioles floundering in last place, O’Hearn should be a borderline lock to get traded. The real question is whether or not Houston will be gung-ho enough about buying at the deadline to win the bidding war.
More MLB: Cubs predicted to land $56 million Cy Young winner in deadline blockbuster
