Astros to Target Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to ‘Solve the 1B Problem’

Getty Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Major League Baseball’s July 30 trade deadline is just over a month away, and contending teams are quickly narrowing down their list of top players to target. One of the hottest sluggers expected to be available this deadline is the Toronto Blue Jays‘ Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and while he’s already been linked to both the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, and San Francisco Giants, MLB beat writer Michael Schwab reported on June 27 that another club is likely to throw their hat in the ring — the Houston Astros.

“The Astros have identified Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as one of their top targets for a trade, per sources,” Schwab posted on X. “It will take a lot to land a player like him, who will be a free agent in 2026, but he would bring a big bat and solve the first base problem.”

In his penultimate year of club control, Guerrero Jr. won a record $19.9 million in salary arbitration for the 2024 season, topping the previous high awarded from a hearing (Teoscar Hernandez’s $14 million salary in 2023) by nearly $6 million. As of June 27, the three-time All-Star is slashing .288/.368/.435 with 10 home runs and 40 RBIs in 306 at bats.

Guerrero Jr. Would Solve the Astros’ ‘First Base Problem’

The Astros signed former-Chicago White Sox first baseman José Abreu before the 2023 season, but it didn’t take long for the team to realize there was a problem. In the first season of his three-year, $58 million deal, Abreu batted .237 with an OPS of .679, and his performance on defense wasn’t much more impressive. This year, he posted a batting average of just .124 in 113 at bats before the Astros released him on June 14.

After bidding farewell to Abreu, the Astros looked to Jon Singleton to step up, but considering two of the biggest reasons Singleton made the team this season were that he’s left-handed and out of options, putting him in as the everyday first baseman was hardly an inspiring prospect.

As of June 27, Singleton is slashing .224/.321/.329 with 5 home runs and 16 RBIs. The 32-year-old is just 8-for-35 at the plate so far in June, and while his stats are better than Abreu’s were, it’s clear the Astros’ problem at first base has not yet been solved, especially if they’ve got their sights set on a playoff campaign.

Enter: Guerrero Jr.

With a Gold Glove (2022), Silver Slugger (2021), and AL Hank Aaron Award (2021) to his name, it’s no secret that Guerrero Jr. can be a game-changer. According to The Athletic’s Jim Bowden, trading the 25-year-old this season makes a lot of sense for the Blue Jays, too.

“Guerrero will be a free agent after the 2025 season and the Blue Jays have yet to sign him to a long-term deal,” Bowden wrote on May 6. “They’d get a much better return in a trade now than they would in the offseason or in the lead-up to next year’s trade deadline.”

Astros GM Confirmed Team Will Be Buyers at Trade Deadline

On June 3, Astros general manager Dana Brown confirmed that despite their disappointing start to the season, the team will be buyers at the trade deadline.

“I don’t see any scenario where we’re sellers,” Brown told The Athletic’s Chandler Rome. “I’ve seen teams blow leads from five games up to seven games up in September. In Atlanta when we won the World Series, we didn’t get to .500 until game 100. I don’t foresee us being sellers at all. We’re going to grind it out. I think we’re going to get back to .500 before people know it and we’ll be back in the race.”

Currently riding a six-game win-streak, the Astros climbed back to .500 (40-40) with their victory against the Colorado Rockies on June 26. If the team is aggressive at the trade deadline to acquire their roster’s missing links, a comeback in the second half of the season is very much on the table.

Guerrero Jr. is a player that would definitely be a move in the right direction.

“Guerrero is still only 25 years old and just entering his prime years,” Bowden wrote on May 6. “Could you imagine him hitting between Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker over the next two seasons (at least)?… Guerrero would solve first base for the Astros and really lengthen their lineup.”