The Houston Astros won 87 games last season, but narrowly missed the postseason. They are off to a rough start in 2026, sitting at the bottom of the American League West with a 7-11 record as they welcome the St. Louis Cardinals to town for a three-game series.
The Astros still have plenty of time to turn their season around, but if they don’t do it quickly, they could find themselves buried in the standings, which could ultimately lead to them selling at the trade deadline. However, not everything about the 2026 season has been bad for the Astros.
In fact, catcher Christian Vazquez has been off to a scorching hot start at the plate, hitting .370/.393/.630 with one home run, nine RBI and a 1.022 OPS. Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report lists Vazquez as a top trade candidate if the Astros sell and named the Pittsburgh Pirates as a top landing spot.
“The Pirates are currently rolling out the underperforming tandem of Henry Davis (40 PA, 81 OPS+, 0.1 WAR) and Joey Bart (26 PA, 41 OPS+, -0.2 WAR) behind the dish, and both former top prospects profile more as organizational depth than impact talent at this point,” Reuter wrote.
Meanwhile, Vázquez is enjoying a resurgent season playing on a one-year, $1 million deal after winning the backup catcher job as a non-roster invitee to Astros spring training.”
Vazquez was acquired by the Astros from the Boston Red Sox in 2022, and he played a key role in them winning their most recent World Series title. After a few down seasons with the Minnesota Twins, he rejoined the Astros, but he has certainly found his groove again at the plate.
The return for Vazquez may not be much at this point in the veteran catcher’s career, as he is in his age-35 season, but he still could be a solid pickup for a contending team.
The Pirates obviously need help at the catcher position, as they haven’t gotten a lot of production out of the options that they have, so Vazquez would fit nicely with them as they look to build off of their hot start to the 2026 season.
Young Outfielder Named as Potential Return Piece
Tyler Callihan was named as the possible return piece for Vazquez, which obviously isn’t anything earth-shattering. But he is close to major league ready and could be somebody the Astros immediately plug into a spot on their active roster.
He can play the outfield and also some second base, so he could be a solid utility piece for the Astros. Vazquez wouldn’t be anything more than a rental after joining the Astros as a non-roster invitee, so they wouldn’t exactly be getting a haul for him.
But he makes sense as a trade candidate if they decide to be sellers at the trade deadline and pivot away from their current roster. It would be a move geared towards the future more than anything else.
It will be interesting to see if Houston can turn its season around. There’s still time, but if they can’t Vazquez is somebody that a contending team could show interest in.
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