Astros Insider Doesn't Buy Confidence in Outfielder

One of the more interesting things about the Houston Astros this offseason was what they planned to do with their full outfield.

Chas McCormick emerged at the plate and pushed Jake Meyers into a reserve type of role. Kyle Tucker is their star right fielder and slugger Yordan Alvarez has talked repeatedly about getting more work in left.

It was thought the Astros could look to move one of these players to get a return and address their other roster needs. Meyers was the most likely candidate.

However, general manager Dana Brown put that speculation to bed after coming out and saying they have confidence in the 27-year-old elite defender and want to give him time to develop at the plate.

Well, at least one Houston reporter isn't believing this statement.

Michael Shapiro of Chron.com, writes, "I still don't buy what Brown is selling regarding Jake Meyers' future as an everyday outfielder."

He's not reporting anything he's hearing or what he has been directly told, but as someone who follows the team closely and reports on what they do, this statement holds some sort of weight.

While Brown is keen on developing internal pieces, something he learned during his time with the Atlanta Braves, there are some major concerns about Meyers' offensive projection going forward.

Since 49 games his rookie season where he slashed .260/.323/.438 with six homers and 28 RBI, he has been a below average hitter the other two years.

His average slash line has never been above .230/.300/.400 in a season and his highest OPS+ since his rookie year was 86 in 2023 when he played 112 games.

Shapiro lays out some options they could trade for if the front office is putting up a smoke screen and are actually shopping Meyers. Other teams likely also have the same concerns about the outfielder turning into a good offensive player, but his elite defense makes him an interesting piece.

Brown will have to be creative in how he improves this team based on the limited budget they have to work with.

Trading Meyers might bring back the best pieces they can get this offseason.