PT TOMORROW: AL West—Not going anywhere yet

Houston Astros

Staying with last week's trade deadline thoughts, the division's only certain post-season contender also owns the biggest black hole offensively at the catcher spot. Entering Tuesday, first-stringer Martín Maldonado (C, HOU) owns a .493 OPS, while backup Jason Castro (C, HOU) is even worse at .312.  The casual observer might point out that CHC free-agent-to-be Wilson Contreras (.877 OPS) is more than available and perhaps the best hitter on the trade market. But Contreras won't come cheap—and more to the point, HOU knew what it was getting when it extended Maldonado last August to a contract with a games-played option close to kicking in for 2023. He's a weak-hitting catcher at the end of an otherwise loaded lineup who...

Almost!

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