The Astros made a splash yesterday by acquiring Evan Gattis from the Braves in exchange for Michael Foltynewicz, Rio Ruiz and Andrew Thurman, but the team is “almost certainly not done” making moves, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (All links to Twitter).
Houston has three catchers on the 40-man roster (not including Gattis) and has discussed trades of Carlos Corporan, Jason Castro and Dexter Fowler as well, according to Rosenthal. If either Corporan or Castro were to be moved, Hank Conger could split time with the remaining catcher, with Gattis filling in behind the plate sporadically. As far as a potential trade of Fowler, both George Springer and Jake Marisnick are capable of handling center field, and Fowler, of course, is in his final year of team control before reaching the open market.
Additionally, Rosenthal lists Chris Carter and Matt Dominguez as trade possibilities, noting that Gattis could fill the role of a right-handed DH/first baseman in Carter’s stead. The signing of Jed Lowrie gives Houston an option to play at third, should Domniguez be dealt. Rosenthal also adds that the Astros have some concern to how much they’ve thinned out their pitching depth (Foltynewicz, Nick Tropeano, Jarred Cosart and Jordan Lyles have all been traded in the past two offseasons), indicating that the Astros may prefer to acquire some young pitching should any of those bats be moved.
Yesterday, Rosenthal and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports indicated that Houston may be looking at short-term additions for the back of its rotation, with Rosenthal naming Kyle Kendrick and Ryan Vogelsong as potential targets.
