The Astros have a new owner but he is likely to stick with the rebuilding plan, at least for now. That means that they won’t be shopping for big time names in free agency. With that in mind, this trio makes perfect sense:

1. Ivan Rodriguez - He is obviously hanging around to chase 3,000 hits. The Astros have had a Black Hole at catcher for years now, so why not give Pudge a chance in 2012.

2. Joel Zumaya - Righty fireballer Joel Zumaya has a huge upside if he can just stay healthy. This would be an outstanding low risk/high reward signing for the Astros.

3. Hideki Okajima - The Astros need a lefty reliever and Okajima might be good in the N.L. because hitters have not seen his unique delivery.

The Houston Astros are going to be busy trying to move players in deals for prospects to help rebuild the roster. The Astros floated Hunter Pence’s name out in trade rumors but they would be stupid to deal him as he is the franchise player. The Astros are trying to deal Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers and Clint Barmes this week and they should be able to get a good return for each of them providing that they throw in cash in the deals. The Astros would also like to deal Carlos Lee but that’s going to be a hard one to pull off because of his price tag and defense. A few teams (Braves, Indians, Rangers and Nationals) would like to have CF Michael Bourn on their teams, so he can be had for the right price (and he won’t come cheap). The Astros are also willing to trade smaller parts like infielder Angel Sanchez and outfielder Jason Michaels this week. Don’t get discouraged Astros’ fans, the roster they have right now just isn’t very good as a whole.

I have heard names like Michael Bourn, Hunter Pence, Brett Myers and Wandy Rodriguez being bandied around in trade rumors. The Astros are requesting a King’s Ransom for that quartet, as they should, so I don’t think any of them will be leaving Houston this July. I do think the Astros will be able to move infielder Jeff Keppinger. I think they can get rookie 3B Conor Gillaspie and outfielder Darren Ford from the Giants for Keppinger and if that were offered, the Astros would have to take it. Gillaspie would like a fire under Chris Johnson’s butt at 3B and Ford would give the Astros an excellent defensive player to replace Carlos Lee late in games as well as pinch run for him as Ford is lightning fast.

The Houston Astros are going to be sellers at the trade deadline in July. Carlos Lee and Brett Myers are going to be the biggest trade chips the Astros are going to have on the block. The Yankees could use both of those guys and they have a lot of solid prospects including a lot of catchers. Clint Barmes, Angel Sanchez and Jeff Keppinger will also likely be on the trading block in late July. Teams will also be calling about Wandy Rodriguez, Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence but the Astros should say no to almost any deal involving these guys unless they are overwhelmed with the return they could get.

The Astros only have two free agents heading into this winter to decide on and neither of them are an impact player. Here is how I see the Astros handling these decisions:

Brian Moehler: 38-year old righty reliever/starter Brian Moehler pitched in 20 games (8 starts) for the Astros last season and he was 1-4 with a 4.92 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. VERDICT: The Astros should finally wave goodbye to Moehler which is something they should have done a couple of years ago.

Geoff Blum: 37-year old switch hitting infielder Geoff Blum played in 93 games for the Astros last season and he was 54 of 202 (.267 avg, .678 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 2 homers and 22 RBIs. VERDICT: The Astros declined their option for the 2011 season on Blum and it looks like they want to go into a different direction.