The Astros have discussed various trade scenarios involving center fielder Jake Meyers with other clubs over the past couple weeks, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network. The 27-year-old is not yet arbitration-eligible and has four years of club control remaining. He’d be arb-eligible next offseason.
Meyers is nominally atop the Astros depth chart in center field, though he took on a more limited role late in the year as the Astros gave Yordan Alvarez and a healthy Michael Brantley more time in left field and pushed Chas McCormick into center field duty with greater regularity. All-Star Kyle Tucker, of course, has right field locked down in Houston.
Brantley’s potential departure in free agency thins out Houston’s outfield mix a bit, although the versatile Mauricio Dubon surely played his way into more reps in the outfield with a solid showing at the plate in 2023 — .278/.309/.411 — much of it at second base in lieu of Jose Altuve when the All-Star endured multiple IL stints. With Altuve back from the injured list, Dubon spent the bulk of his time in center field late in the season, splitting time there with McCormick.
Meyers impressed as a 25-year-old rookie in 2021, hitting .260/.323/.438 in 163 trips to the plate and showing off strong defensive skills, but his penchant for strikeouts was always a red flag. A shoulder injury suffered during the 2021 postseason ultimately required surgery to repair his labrum, and Meyers’ 2022 season at the plate was nightmarish, to say the least. In his first year back from that procedure, he tallied just 160 MLB plate appearances and batted .227/.269/.313. His 2023 campaign was better, but still not close to his 2021 levels. In 341 trips to the plate, Meyers hit .227/.296/.382.
To Meyers’ credit, he remains a stellar defender in the outfield, and his track record in the upper minors is excellent. In 1499 career innings patrolling center field, he’s been credited with 12 Defensive Runs Saved and 20 Outs Above Average. Statcast pegs his range in the 95th percentile of MLB outfielders and his sprint speed in the 92nd percentile of all MLB players. In 474 Triple-A plate appearances, he carries a stout .330/.407/.556 batting line. Even in the big leagues, where his overall offensive output is subpar, he’s hit lefties at a quality .270/.316/.444 clip.
At the very least, Meyers could have appeal to other teams as a platoon option in center field, with standout glovework and an above-average bat against left-handed pitching. And, at 27 years of age, he may still be young enough that other clubs feel he could tap into the offensive potential he’s displayed in Triple-A and emerge as a viable everyday option in center.
Even if Meyers is viewed as “only” a glove-first, fleet-footed fourth outfielder who’s best deployed in platoon situations, that should still hold value to other clubs — particularly with four years of club control remaining and a pre-arbitration salary that’ll clock in just slightly north of the league minimum next season. The Giants are seeking more range in their outfield, for instance. The Twins could welcome an affordable alternative to free agent Michael A. Taylor. The D-backs have an all left-handed outfield. The Rays are discussing Manuel Margot with other clubs — the Yankees and Mets among them — and Meyers offers a similar skill set at a fraction of the price.
While a massive return shouldn’t be expected in the event that the Astros do ultimately strike up a deal, Meyers’ speed, defense at a premium position, production against lefties and pre-arbitration status are all appealing to various degrees.
Hope Cleveland isn’t involved…
Cya!
Um, one week before this year trade deadline dusty baker told a cleveland reporter that he wanted miles straw back to play centerfield.
Baker wasn’t happy with Chad McCormick defence in center field.
Yeah, but a lot of people don’t like Baker’s head scratching decisions. We are happy he finally retired.
And Baker was wrong about that too.
Been waiting for him to be traded for a while now, he simply doesn’t get much playing time with Houston cause there are just better options. Wish him well and hope he ends up doing well somewhere else, he’s a nice guy and hits lefties pretty well. Good platoon guy and his defense is pretty solid.
Imagine wanting Jake Meyers
Someone wanted Jake Marisnick. And Miles Straw. And Jose Siri. All glove first CF like Meyers. So why wouldn’t SOMEONE want Meyers?
Imagine wanting Adolis Garcia when he was designated for assignment the second time in his baseball career! Your take on Jake might be the reason you don’t work in the MLB.
Adell + 500K for this man. Who says no?
Dime a dozen for all the Jake Meyers types playing in MLB
Given how there isn’t 30 cf who can play mlb caliber defence, and it seems Myers can do that so no not a dime a dozen
This has Farhan Zaidi and the Giants written all over it
Pretty sure he has his sights set on Jung Hoo Lee
He had his sights set on Aaron Judge, Carlos Rodon and Carlos Correa last winter and how did that work out?…
Those two names are synonymous with each other let alone this situation, nice try
Hope the Astros can get as good a return for Meyers as they got for Miles Straw.
A bag of balls would be good
If they can get Air Yordan for Josh Fields the Astros can do anything! The Dodgers amazing scouting department sure missed that one. Worst trade in the history of baseball?
what underlying metrics are we missing because on the surface I do not see anything too appealing. I am shocked they have multiple clubs interested. The return wouldn’t be much IMO
They likely aren’t looking for a big return. He doesn’t appear to have a role going in Houston going forward. Why have him as a wasted roster spot? See if you can get something in return for him.
sss
He’s a player with positive value
Of course teams are interested
Probably clearing up the 40 man roster.
When Meyers was the regular starting CF against LHs, he was terrific. After he became part of a rotation of Dubon, McCormick, and Julks, he got cold. He has surprising pop too
Meyers in CF and McCormick in LF works. Altuve was the worst defensive 2B in MLB and Dubon will need to spell him more often.
I’ll be pissed if my Yankees trade for him. He’s 27 and hit .227 with 10 homers playing solid D. Pretty sure Florial could also pull that off and he’s in house and hits lefty. Give the kid a shot rather than bring in a parallel player
I would love for the Orioles to snag Meyers to serve as a platoon mate for Mullins or Cowser for the next few years, plus he could also pitch in as a late game defensive sub to track down flyballs in that cavernous LF at OPACY when Mullins is starting in CF. Seems like he would be a pretty firm upgrade over Ryan McKenna, who would be the current guy on the roster for that type of role.
Baseball Savant shows Meyers was worth 9 outs above average in 2023 while playing around 60% of the time. Basically he is a Gold Glove caliber defender in a key position who is a slightly below average hitter but is capable of hitting 15 to 20 home runs if playing full time. He would be an upgrade for a lot of teams.
I would like to see the Astros trade him for Christian Vazquez. Twins are looking to shed salaries and need a CF and Astros are looking for a backup catcher.
That’s actually not a bad idea. Ryan Jeffers seemed to supplant Vazquez as the Twins primary Catcher down the stretch last season and probably view Vazquez as an expensive backup and being able to unload his contract while getting a useful piece in return would likely be appealing
I would be pleased to see Vazquez return, but I am not sure he would be happy as a backup catcher. Worth a phone call, just the same.
Vazquez has also played first and second, plus he and Diaz could DH when Alvarez plays LF. I would be surprised if he has a no-trade clause.
That’s a win-win trade and it ensures we don’t have Maldonado back! So win-win-win!
Vazquez did not like how sparingly he played under Dusty. See also Yainer Diaz.
That said, I’m hoping, if Maldonado resigns, Espada treats him as a backup
It’s already been said by multiple people that Diaz will be the starting catcher next year and if I’m not mistaken Dana has already said that. I hope Maldy comes back but as a coach not a player.
Blue Jays
Yea my thought to as the 4th OF extra CF plays against his good platoon side and can play 100 games i the grass if need be. Jays still get a big time OF besides a d 1 starting 2b/3b
I don’t care where he goes, just so long as he goes. Singleton, Madriss, Kessinger, Julks all need to go. Actually I think I read something yesterday about Madriss going elsewhere.
Yassss let’s trade all the depth!
And why stop there?! Trade Framber, JV, McCullers, Urquidy, etc!
Foolish… Meyers was exceptional defensively and a great option starting against LHs. You should pay closer attention
The league has lots of Jake Meyers types. Houston will get little or nothing in return. McCormick, on the other hand, would draw some interest.
With Dusty gone, I am curious to see how the GM goes about keeping the Astros at the top. Yes, they had injuries to Altuve and Alvarez but they finished 16 games worse in 2023.
Bregman and Altuve will need to be re-signed but they are both represented by Scott Boras, who never re-signs his guys with the same team.
Considering everything they’re going to have to deal with over the next 12 months, this Jake Meyers story seems a timid way to start.
Trading McCormick would be foolish. He’s basically the closest thing to George springer we have had since he left
Trade Bregman, Pena to 3rd, Dubon to short. Bregman is not going to sign, he wants too much money. I would definitely not trade McCormick.
Did you seriously suggest moving Pena to 3B and Dubon to SS?? Do you actually know baseball, at all? While Pena can’t hit much, he’s a very solid SS.
Dubon has a weak noodle arm and average footing. He’s a 2B at best, and a SS ONLY when Pena needs a day off.
Correct, Beff. Why move the best defensive SS in baseball to 3B? And, agreed, Dubon has a very weak arm as evidenced when he played 3B.
Dusty was the reason houston didn’t clinch the division until the final day of the season. It is a massive improvement with new management.
Houston has no outfield but Tucker. Yes Yordan can play LF but he is not full time. Good Meyers needs to go. So does Chas. Chas is not reliable hitter. Nor great defense. Yes Chas had moments but think has been unreliable. NO to getting Vasquez as well. We can do much better. He did nothing for us. I am sure Jake can help some where.
Bligh Madris went to Detroit. I am curious on Dirden and Leon in the minors for Houston. Julks was good but suddenly bottom fell out. Kessinger needs to go as well. Singleton will not be back. But Houston needs to get better. Quite a few players I feel are not worth keeping
McCormick was fine but Crusty Baker ensured he could never settle into the team by benching him when he was hitting well. I notice Astros didn’t protect Dirden or Leon from the Rule 5 draft, so I suspect they are not considered too valuable..
That’s a lot of choppy sentences to say nothing.
McCormick had the 2nd best wRC+ among CF in 2023.
Yet, it’s funny how people like to say how awful he is. I’m curious if they even know baseball at all.
It’s really amazing – he barrels the ball, he gets on base a lot, hits for power and steals bases. Sure, he strikes out about 25% of the time but the value is overwhelmingly positive. I’m not sure what the former manager had against him and Diaz… I’m just thankful we are moving forward.
Meyers sounds like another platoon player option Zaidi would target: hits LHP, solid CF defense & recovering from injury.
No thanks. Giants already have too many players like Meyers.
After the decent year Chas had, he deserves a shot. There’s no way anyone who watched the Astros this year can say that Jake should be at the top of the depth chart in CF. Is Chas the long term answer? Maybe not. But unless we’re going to bring in a better FA, he deserves the chance to play full time and see what he can provide with regular playing time.
Chas is in the top half of CF options in MLB. Solid bat but less than stellar defense. Ultimately, the Astros are simply better with him in the lineup.
As I recall, his defense is top notch when needed. Reference World Series 2022 catch against the wall. He is a gamer
Chas could have been in the All-Star game if Dusty played him consistently in the first half of the season. Also has anyone seen the top 5 catches by the Astros last year? The catches are based on catch probability. Chas had 2 of the 5.
He could fit with the Mets as a 4th OF or be a regular if Marte is not ready. Won’t cost much and he has upside.
If you start a sentence with “and, at 37 years of age….” there doesn’t need to be a comma after “and.”
Jake is a good player and capable of more than he showed the last couple years (injury influenced). He needs playing time certainly, I think that might be lacking in Houston. If we could get something of a reliever in return for him it might benefit everybody. Hopefully he goes somewhere where he can get a chance to play more often.
Meyers for C Blake Sabol (Giants)?
Reliever or a good catcher. Sabol hits lefty with some pop. I think that would be plus on both sides