Michael Brantley’s Injury Should Change The Astros Trade Deadline Strategy

Seattle Mariners v Houston Astros

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The Astros are in the midst of another special season that is seeing them run away with the American League West once again. The battle down the stretch for the best record in baseball should have them right in the thick of it the entire time. One thing that might change that however is of course, injuries. 

A few days ago I detailed how injuries to Michael Brantley and Yordan Alvarez might change their line of thinking and given the latest news on Brantley, they should absolutely be looking to add another bat to the outfield before the August 2nd trade deadline. The last thing you want in October is to be forced into playing Chas McCormick or even Jose Siri everyday in left field. It would add another hole to a lineup that already has two of them.

The concern for the Brantley injury should be very real. Now look, you could say hey, they have a huge division lead, they are probably just slow playing this thing. That might be the case for most injuries when you are in this kind of spot, but this one feels different now. Brantley has not swung a bat in weeks and when he finally does, he does not feel right and has to be sent home to be evaluated by doctors. There is no way to spin it at all, that is a development that should have them extremely concerned. Add to this the real worry with the Yordan injury and the Astros are playing with fire in their outfield all of the sudden.

Options on the market at the trade deadline will be tough. Competition for bats will be real with more buyers than normal given that the postseason has expanded, but there will be options for the club. The concern has to be real at this point for their outfield and over the next few weeks the club must find a safety net to keep them from having a real issue come October.

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