On Tuesday, ESPN's Jeff Passan wrote his first MLB trade deadline piece for all 32 MLB teams. The Houston Astros are one of the few teams that are hard to predict, and one player is a key factor in future decision-making.

The Astros are aiming to get back to the postseason for the ninth consecutive year. However, their playoff hopes rely on star Yordan Alvarez, who has played in fewer than 50% of the games this season. According to Passan, the Astros are in a weird spot. They also have starter Framber Valdez as an upcoming free agent, and he could be one of the top players on the market.

Houston needs Alvarez back and healthy in the lineup to get a good idea of what the team will look like. The Astros have not had much of a look at a healthy lineup. Before they even consider trading away Valdez and establishing themselves as sellers at the deadline, the Astros would love to see Alvarez back and at the top of his game. That immediately gives the team a major boost.

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At 32-27, the Astros are 0.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners for the AL West Division lead. The Astros could find themselves in first place by the end of the night. Despite that, Passan feels the Astros are still not where they want to be, and the fate of the season relies on Alvarez. That is a lot of pressure to put on one player, but recent history has shown that the Astros are a World Series contender with the slugger mashing home runs and flipping momentum.

“Houston's fate could come down to the health of Yordan Alvarez, who has played in fewer than half of Houston's games and has left a cavernous hole in the middle of the lineup,” Passan wrote. “Should the Astros continue on this path, they could be the likeliest team to stand pat: good enough not to ship out guys, not good enough to merit their import.”

Manager Joe Espada had a similar mindset when discussing the Alvarez injury. “We'll keep moving forward, that is our team DNA.”