The Houston Astros are fresh off winning the 2022 World Series, and they will be looking to win it all again in 2023 considering they still have one of the strongest rosters in the league. Even with the departure of Justin Verlander in free agency, the Astros are in a good spot to remain the team to beat in the American League next season.
Houston hasn't made a ton of moves this offseason, and the departure of their top pitcher in Verlander certainly looms large. But the Astros shored up arguably their biggest weakness at first base by signing Jose Abreu, and considering all the other talent they have on their roster, they should remain an extremely strong team next season.
The Astros may not be in a rush to continue spending this offseason, but they could increase their activity on the trade market in an effort to fill out the rest of their roster. Let's take a look at the perfect trade that would allow Houston to accomplish that goal, and see why it would be such a win for the Astros.
Astros perfect offseason trade
Acquire Alejandro Kirk from the Toronto Blue Jays
The Astros catching situation has been quite strange over the past few seasons. Houston has been perfectly content to roll out Martin Maldonado as their everyday starter strictly for his defensive contributions behind the plate. The problem is that Maldonado offers virtually nothing as a hitter, and hasn't even managed to hit above .200 over the past two seasons.
The ‘Stros seemed to reach their breaking point at the trade deadline when they went out and swung a trade for Christian Vazquez, who is one of the better all-around catchers in the game. But Maldonado remained the primary starter, with Vazquez assuming more of a bench role with Houston for whatever reason.
Vazquez seems likely to leave in free agency after winning the second ring of his career, despite the fact Houston wants to re-sign him. The Astros want another catcher for some reason, despite their insistence to play Maldonado over Vazquez once they traded for him. The alternative would be to add a catcher you couldn't realistically start Maldonado over because of his offensive contributions.
That catcher would be Alejandro Kirk of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays have an excess of MLB caliber catchers, and are rumored to be interested in trading any one of them for the right price. And considering their World Series aspirations, Kirk is the guy who would make the most sense for Toronto.
Kirk quickly emerged as one of the top catchers in the game for Toronto last season, and his strong play (.285 BA, 14 HR, 63 RBI, .786 OPS) earned him an All-Star selection and a Silver Slugger award. But with the Blue Jays having other playable catchers and some other big needs on their roster, they could deal Kirk and fill another position of need with what they get in return for him.
Acquiring Kirk would allow the Astros to fill what they seem to believe is one of the biggest areas of need on their roster. Despite their insistence on playing Maldonado on a consistent basis, they seem to want a starting level catcher to come in and back him up. Vazquez was the first guy subjected to this strange gameplan, and it seems like they are targeting another catcher to fill his role.
The thing is, if Houston ended up pulling off this deal, they would almost have to start Kirk on an everyday basis. His production from the catcher position is simply too good to ignore. You could technically play him at designated hitter, which isn't an outrageous idea, if you want to keep both him and Maldonado in the lineup, but he is a clear upgrade over Maldonado right now.
It's also fair to note that Kirk is just 24 years old, and is under team control through the 2026 season, which makes him extremely valuable. Finding consistent production at the catcher position is extremely hard to do, and if they could manage to land Kirk, the Astros would have a big worry checked off their list for the foreseeable future.
Truth be told, the Astros don't have a ton of areas they need to upgrade right now, which is why they have the luxury to go out and target Kirk when it seems like they don't really need to. His addition would certainly make Houston's roster better, and if they want to go out and pick someone up on the trade market, it makes a lot of sense for them to try to swing a deal with the Blue Jays for Kirk.
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