The Houston Astros continue to find the right personnel to beef up the team's composition and several names have been suggested as potential targets. This includes J.T. Realmuto and Seth Lugo, two guys who could considerably help in the team's rotation.
On one end is Realmuto although the Miami Marlins are asking for two top prospects in Kyle Tucker and Forrest Whitley. The Astros don't seem to be inclined with the tradeoff, a reason why this deal has not really gotten off the ground. Then again, it could still be consummated if revisions are made in the suggested trade deal.
Houston did sign Robinson Chiros to a one-year deal in the offseason, something that many perceived to have doused water on any interest by the Astros on Realmuto. But CBS Sports suggests that this may not stand in the way with the Houston still expected to make a run for the 27-year-old catcher.
All names involved in this potential deal have something going for them. Tucker and Whitley are the fifth and eight best prospects respectively in baseball, MLB.com said. A revised trade could see the Astros sending only one plus another name to the Marlins to get Realmuto. If not via that route, a conduit team could enter the trade to make things more interesting.
Aside from Realmuto, another player allegedly on the Astros wish list is Seth Lugo. The 29-year-old pitcher is said to be in the middle of discussions between the Astros and the Mets, not actually a high profile deal but could make sense if the performance of the "Quaterrican" is to be considered.
Lugo is coming off a good year. He played 54 games and produced a 2.66 ERA with 103 strikeouts in 101 1/3 innings. He did start in five games and is seen as an Astro-type of a guy, Fansided suggests.
But similar to the case of Realmuto, getting Lugo to Houston is expected to come at a price. He is currently under team control until 2022 and it would take something big to convince the New York Mets to agree to a deal. Again, the names of Whitley and Tucker have been mentioned plus possibly Yordan Alvarez.
A bit of good news is that the Mets don't necessarily have to trade him. They have a decent amount of starters so letting Lugo go hardly accounts for one of the team's worries. Hence, it all depends on how the Astros are able to convince the Mets - something that won't come cheap and likely to take some time to arrange.
