The Houston Astros have a lineup problem and it is centered on the outfield. Their solution might be a trade for Colorado Rockies outfielders Mickey Moniak and Jake McCarthy.
CBS Sports reported this week that the Astros are showing “strong interest” in the Rockies’ outfield pair as Houston eyes the Aug. 3 trade deadline. The interest makes sense on paper. Houston’s outfielders have combined for an 87 wRC+ and an MLB-worst .294 on-base percentage this season. Anything above replacement level would be an upgrade.
Moniak, 28, was the No. 1 overall pick way back in 2016 and has finally started to look like a real major league contributor over the last two seasons. He is a left-handed hitter who plays passable center field defense and has some power. He is exactly the kind of role player who thrives in a good clubhouse.
McCarthy is a different profile. He is 28, hits left, and provides speed and defensive versatility. He has stolen 20-plus bases in a season before. He is the kind of guy who could platoon with the Astros’ right-handed hitters and provide a real bench upgrade for October.
The Rockies are exactly the kind of team that should be selling. Colorado is deep in the NL West basement, has been for years, and continues to hold onto veterans who have limited long-term value to a rebuild. Any team that comes calling on Moniak or McCarthy is going to get a receptive audience from Colorado’s front office.
The Astros’ bigger problem is that adding Moniak and McCarthy is not going to fix everything. Houston is 36-42. Their offense has been inconsistent for months. Jose Altuve is having a solid year but is aging. Alex Bregman has been mostly average. Yordan Alvarez has missed time with injuries.
General manager Dana Brown has said publicly that Houston plans to be buyers, not sellers, at the deadline despite the record. That is the correct call for the franchise. The Astros’ championship window is not officially closed. They still have Framber Valdez. They still have Alvarez and Altuve. They still have enough starting pitching to win a short series.
What they do not have is a functional outfield. Adding Moniak and McCarthy makes that group functional. That is worth something. It is not a blockbuster. It is the kind of deal a smart contending team makes to shore up a real weakness without giving up top prospects.
The cost should be reasonable. Neither Moniak nor McCarthy is a star. Both are veterans on modest contracts. Colorado will want a couple of decent prospects, probably from Houston’s mid-tier depth. That is a fair price for two outfielders who could each play 40 games down the stretch and into October.
The Astros should also be looking at bullpen help. Their pen has been leaky. Houston might want to see if the same conversation with Colorado could include reliever Justin Lawrence, who has quietly had a decent year.
Nothing about the Astros’ 2026 season has been what fans expected. But adding real depth to the outfield in the next three weeks is one of the moves that could get them back into the American League Wild Card conversation. Moniak and McCarthy would help. The question is what else Houston does around that move.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
