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The Astros could have used the trade deadline to upgrade the center field position, but nothing materialized to help the club. On a nightly basis fans will be sitting back staring at the position, wondering why the club did not do more. The trade deadline was an overall success for the club, picking up three very much needed players. But you could still make the argument that the biggest need was the position that went untouched.
Each guy that has and will see time in center field has something that they bring to the table. Jake Meyers brings an elite level of range in the outfield, making more plays than any of the other guys that you will see out there. Chas McCormick is elite against left handed pitching, but the numbers against right handers are just not good enough. Mauricio Dubon is the definition of a professional and will always give you quality at-bats when he is at the plate. As a whole, they very well could piece this together the rest of the way and be just fine. They are really able to do this, which should be continued better production from first base and catching positions as well as Alex Bregman continuing to tick in the right direction. While it would be great to be stacked throughout the entire batting order, in the real world it is just not as easy as you all want it to be.
For this to work, the club will need league average production from those players collectively for this black hole in the lineup to be so prominent. Jake Meyers stands out the most as the guy that really has to pick it up. Expectation levels were far too high for a player coming off as major of an injury that he was, it still feels like he could have benefited from more at-bats in the minor leagues before making his return. The other solution on paper is to play Kyle Tucker in center, but this fixes nothing overall. You cannot have an outfield defense of Tucker in center, flanked by Yordan and Diaz in left and right. Long term, that just simply will not work. Dusty Baker has been completely against Tucker in center field, while James Click does sound more open to it overall. Expecting this to become a reality is probably not likely, unless Michael Brantley was to suddenly get healthy and capable of playing everyday before the season comes to an end.
The Astros will still win with the current configuration in center field, but this is something that they must address this winter for the club to improve even more.