Astros Should Look to Upgrade Middle Infield, Cut Ties With Brendan Rodgers
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The Houston Astros know they have a chance to win the American League pennant this season even ahead of the Detroit Tigers or whoever comes out of the AL East.
This is an Astros team that has dealt with a lot of injuries, but has a talented roster. One way the team can get even better is upgrading the middle infield and either demoting or cutting ties with Brendan Rodgers.
Rodgers has gotten most of his work at second base for Houston, but he's yet to make the most of it. His slash line as of the All-Star break is a mere .191/.266/.278 with two home runs and 11 RBI.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - JUNE 14: Brendan Rodgers #1 of the Houston Astros bats in the third inning against the Minnesota Twins at Daikin Park on June 14, 2025 in Houston, Texas.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - JUNE 14: Brendan Rodgers #1 of the Houston Astros bats in the third inning against the Minnesota Twins at Daikin Park on June 14, 2025 in Houston, Texas.He's only recorded 115 at-bats so far this season, so it's not the largest sample size in the world, but it's enough to show he isn't producing the way he should be for a contender.
The Astros only signed him to a one-year deal worth $2 million, so the organization wouldn't even be losing out on much if it chose to designate him for assignment.
Houston has been moving star Jose Altuve around between left field and second base. He's much more comfortable at second base, but the Astros have nobody else who can swing the bat well enough to play left. Cooper Hummell and Taylor Trammell, the other two outfield options, are hitting even worse than Rodgers.
Rodgers isn't getting it done, so the organization must do one of two things before the trade deadline passes: find someone to play second base and keep Altuve in left field or move Altuve to second base and acquire a left fielder.
If the Astros bring in an infielder, Ramón Urías from the Baltimore Orioles is versatile and has a little more pop in his bat. If they choose to push for an outfielder, Taylor Ward or one of the two Boston Red Sox outfielders who could be dealt (Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu).
Houston has played this jigsaw puzzle for far too long this year, and it's a game the organization can't continue to play heading into the playoffs.
More MLB: Dodgers Should Officially Cut Ties With Struggling $17 Million Outfielder
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
10 minutes ago
- The Hill
Obama mourns Cubs great Ryne Sandberg: ‘Class act'
Former President Obama is remembering Ryne Sandberg as a 'class act' following the Chicago Cubs second baseman's death. Sixty-five-year-old Sandberg died Monday, the Cubs said in a social media post. The famed baseball player had announced last year that he had been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. 'Hall of Famer and Cubs stalwart Ryne Sandberg wasn't just a great baseball player — he was a class act who never cheated the game,' Obama said on Tuesday. 'Everyone in Chicago — including White Sox fans — will miss him deeply,' he added. The former commander in chief, whose home city is Chicago, is a noted White Sox fan. But he's expressed admiration for the Windy City's crosstown rival before. Ahead of the Cubs' 2016 World Series win, then-White House press secretary Josh Earnest said of Obama, 'The president is a loyal Chicago White Sox fan.' 'But the president is also a champion of his hometown, and he has been pleased to see the Chicago Cubs play so well this year,' Earnest said at the time. In a statement, MLB commissioner Bob Manfred called Sandberg a 'legend of the Chicago Cubs franchise.' 'He was a five-tool player who excelled in every facet of the game thanks to his power, speed and work ethic,' Manfred said, recognizing Sandberg's '10 consecutive All-Star selections, nine straight Gold Gloves, seven Silver Sluggers and 1984 National League MVP honors.'
New York Times
11 minutes ago
- New York Times
Can Quentin Grimes and the Sixers find a deal that works for both?
Every dollar matters for the Philadelphia 76ers, a 24-win team caught in a financial crunch. But every dollar matters for the Sixers' most important current free agent, too. Can they and Quentin Grimes meet in the middle? Grimes, a two-way shooting guard who balled out last season for the tanking 76ers after arriving in a February trade, is one of four restricted free agents who remain on the market. The Athletic recently polled 16 people in NBA front offices (including no one from Philly's), asking them what they would deem a 'fair' contract for each member of the four: Grimes, the Golden State Warriors' Jonathan Kuminga, the Chicago Bulls' Josh Giddey and the Brooklyn Nets' Cam Thomas. Advertisement Results for Kuminga and Giddey have already published. Now, it is on to Grimes, a 25-year-old who averaged an efficient 21.9 points in 28 games with the 76ers last season after a midseason trade. Most people polled for the story considered Grimes within shouting range of the midlevel exception, which is worth $14.1 million in starting salary. Twelve of the 16 proposed average annual salaries between $12 million and $16.7 million. One front-office staffer who is especially high on Grimes suggested a four-year, $75 million deal, the most total money and the highest average annual value ($18.8 million) anyone in the poll mentioned. On the other side of the spectrum was an executive who considered Grimes worth just $30 million over three years, $10 million in average annual value, the lowest number in the poll. The executive said he couldn't properly contextualize Grimes' scoring outburst at the end of last season, when the injured 76ers were losing intentionally in the hopes of keeping their first-round pick, because he 'played on a bad team.' Others who suggested salaries lower than the midlevel exception mentioned market conditions as to why Grimes, a strong on-ball defender and 3-point sniper even at his worst, may not receive a salary commensurate with his end-of-season numbers. 'The way the cap (environment) is now, why would you spend $20 million on Quentin Grimes when you can get (Bucks guard) Gary Trent (Jr.) for a minimum?' said one executive, who proposed a three-year, $40 million contract for Grimes. 'We shouldn't just sign young players because they're young. … You've got to believe Grimes is gonna develop into your starting backcourt with (Tyrese) Maxey.' The 76ers are loaded with young guards. There's Maxey, already an All-Star at age 24. There's 21-year-old Jared McCain, the rookie of the year favorite until he suffered a season-ending injury in 2024-25. Coming in this season is the No. 3 selection in this past June's NBA Draft, V.J. Edgecombe. Advertisement If the Sixers consider Grimes a starter, they can pay him like one. If they worry he could lag behind those three, then they would be more hesitant to hand him a briefcase of cash. One person in the poll suggested a two-year deal (for $24 million). Eleven people proposed three-year deals. The total money for those were $30 million, $36 million, $39 million, $40 million, $42 million, $45 million (two), $45.7 million (which is the exact worth of the midlevel exception), $48 million (two) and $50 million. Four people mentioned four-year contracts: One for $60 million, one for $64 million, one for $72 million and one for $75 million. The restricted free agency experience, rarely a fun one, is even damper than usual this summer. The little cap space that was once out there has evaporated. Meanwhile, leverage isn't easy to find for players in Grimes', Kuminga's, Giddey's and Thomas' situations. Since they are restricted free agents, their 2024-25 teams have right of first refusal, meaning if Grimes, for example, signed an offer sheet with another franchise, the Sixers could match it to bring him back for the same price. It makes rival organizations hesitant to tie up cap space with restricted free agents. Meanwhile, sign-and-trades are difficult because of a niche rule in the collective bargaining agreement called base year compensation, which makes the math in matching salaries far more complex than usual. Yet, whether he's a 20-point scorer or not, Grimes can play. By his second season, he was a starter on a New York Knicks team that won a playoff series. He drained 3-pointers and consistently guarded the opposition's best perimeter player. He's bounced around since — to the Detroit Pistons and then Dallas Mavericks and eventually to the Sixers, who let him cook after most of their top performers left the court late in the season. Advertisement As Grimes' usage climbed in Philadelphia, his above-average efficiency maintained, not normally the case when a young player ratchets up his responsibilities. He ran more pick-and-rolls, attacked the basket and controlled his squad's offense more than ever while in Philly. 'There are not many Swiss Army knife wings out there that score it as efficiently, defend, pass or rebound like he does,' said the front-office staffer who suggested the four-year, $75 million contract. 'He might not be elite at any one thing, but (he's) very good at a lot of them.' But even if the 76ers agree with that assessment, they have a problem. The cheapest salary a four-year, $75 million contract could start at is $16.7 million. As of now, Philadelphia is approximately $3 million below the luxury-tax threshold. Any Grimes contract, including if he picked up his qualifying offer of $8.7 million (which would send him back to Philly on a one-year deal and allow him to enter unrestricted free agency a year from now), would drive them past it. But this contract would blast them into the first apron and only approximately $5 million short of the second apron, which the team is hoping to avoid. The Sixers may overflow with talent but they also have the largest delta between their possibilities for the upcoming season. In a best-case scenario, a former MVP in Joel Embiid looks like himself again; a renaissance season from nine-time All-Star Paul George emerges; and a young stud in Maxey continues to improve. There is additional talent to fill in the gaps. In a worst-case one, Embiid and George, who just underwent another surgery, can't stay on the floor and the team combusts, just as it did in 2024-25, when expectations were high and results were the league's most disappointing. The Sixers finished 24-58. It will be difficult to justify such an expensive roster if they falter again this season. Advertisement For that reason, people polled about Grimes' contract concentrated on keeping him tradable. If the Sixers need to break it down, if they need to flip him for a center because Embiid misses time, maintaining him either on a short-term contract or on one with a salary below the midlevel exception could be an emphasis. 'I like Quentin Grimes. He's a very good player. I would present him with two options: You can have a three-year, $48 million deal or a four-year, $60 million,' one executive said. A three-year contract of that value would crest barely above this season's MLE, which can be used as a trade exception (meaning the Sixers could hypothetically trade Grimes into someone else's midlevel exception without having to match salaries). His 2026-27 salary would clear that season's MLE, too. But the four-year, $60 million deal could keep both seasons under it. 'You say to him, 'Do you want money or do you want longevity?'' the executive said. 'And if he says both, you say, 'We can't offer both.'' Starting-caliber players tend to make more than this. In 2025-26, 22 point guards, 28 shooting guards, 21 small forwards, 25 power forwards and 22 centers will earn more than the MLE. One participant in the poll suggested a salary barely above the midlevel, just to signal that Grimes is worth it. 'It's the same ballpark as what (Caris) LeVert and Nickeil Alexander-Walker got in average annual value,' he said. So now, like the rest of his restricted counterparts, Grimes waits, hoping to make the money his performance dictates he deserves and hoping to avoid the contract his lack of leverage could plop in front of him.
NBC Sports
11 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Houston ace Framber Valdez criticizes defensive shift in Astros' loss to Nationals
HOUSTON — Houston ace Framber Valdez expressed frustration about the defensive positioning on a play in the sixth inning that led to the only run he allowed in the Astros' 2-1 loss to the Washington Nationals. There were two outs in the sixth when Valdez walked Josh Bell. Nathaniel Lowe's groundball double to the right field corner scored Bell and tied the game at 1. Valdez wasn't happy that right fielder Taylor Trammell was shifted halfway to center field instead of in right field on the play. 'I saw the right fielder playing center field and, you know, we have a center fielder for that,' Valdez told reporters in Spanish through a translator. 'I feel like the right fielder should have been playing right field. I was uncomfortable with that.' Valdez was asked if he addressed the positioning with the coaching staff. 'I don't have to ask the coaches about that,' he said. 'I feel like baseball is a game of common sense. With me as a lefty pitcher, they don't hit a lot of fly balls against me.' Valdez allowed three hits and a run while tying a season high with 12 strikeouts in six innings to become the 10th pitcher in franchise history to reach 1,000 career strikeouts (1,007). Riley Adams hit a solo homer in the seventh inning to give Washington the win and extend Houston's skid to a season-high five games.
