The Houston Astros head into the trade deadline as one of the best teams in Major League Baseball. At 60-47, holding a three-game lead in the AL West, the Astros will be aggressive as they push towards another World Series title.
Chandler Rome of The Athletic spoke with Astros second baseman Jose Altuve ahead of the deadline, where he kept it blunt about the team’s position heading into an important stretch of the season.
On the season, Altuve is hitting .277 with 17 home runs, 53 RBI’s and a .796 OPS. In a lineup that has been killed by injuries, Altuve has been a constant spark once again.
“I’m thinking about the guys we have here,” Altuve said. “The guys who are showing up every day to play the game. We’re still in first place, so we’re going to leave it up to (the front office) and see our guys get healthy at some point and join the club.”
The Astros have been beat up brutally on the injury front. Their lineup has suffered injuries to Isaac Paredes, Jeremy Pena, Yordan Alvarez, among others, and their pitching staff has been without Ronel Blanco, J.P. France, Luis Garcia, and recently Lance McCullers Jr.
The return of the Astros’ top players, along with any trade deadline acquisitions they may make, should help spark the team as they march towards another deep postseason run.