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.

Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman are the players worth the most on the open market for the Astros but they shouldn’t sell either of them for pennies on a dollar. That’s why I wouldn’t be surprised if they were both still on the Astros come August 1st. I would flip Brett Myers to the Twins for 3B Danny Valencia, SS Trevor Plouffe and 2B Alexi Casilla. I would then flip Jeff Keppinger to the Mets for righty reliever Tobi Stoner. If the Astros made those two deals they would start all three of the guys they get from the Twins and Stoner would likely be the new 7th inning man for the Astros. They don’t need to have a firesale….the Astros just need to make quality trades.

The Astros are 32-51 on the season which has them in fifth place in the N.L. Central, 15.5 games behind the Reds. Make no mistake the Astros are going to try to remake their team this month and who could blame them. Looking towards the future I see the Astros putting Roy Oswalt, Brett Myers, Wandy Rodriguez, Matt Lindstrom, Brandon Lyon and Lance Berkman on the block. They should get solid returns for each one of those guys. The Astros won’t likely stop there though as Humberto Quintero, Jeff Keppinger, Pedro Feliz, Geoff Blum, Jason Michaels, J.R. Towles, Tim Byrdak and Brian Moehler could also be moved as discount prices. It’s very important that the Astros get a lot of quality back in trades because they came into this season ranked dead last (30th overall) in minor league talent according to Baseball America.

The Houston Astros might embark on a epic firesale soon if they don’t start showing something soon. The Astros have to make sure that they make a lot of phone calls before pulling the trigger on any trades to maximize the return they get especially for the top shelf guys like Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt. Here is a look at who is likely to be availabale and what teams likely have a interest in them as of today:

Roy Oswalt: The Nationals and Mets seem to be the most likely destinations for him.
Lance Berkman: The White Sox, Mariners and Nationals seem the most likely to deal for him.
Wandy Rodriguez: Cardinals, Mets, Nationals
Brett Myers: Cardinals, Mets, Nationals
Pedro Feliz: Twins and Angels
Brian Moehler: Diamondbacks
Jeff Fulchino: Phillies, Marlins, Reds, D-Backs
Tim Byrdak: Rays, Red Sox and D-Backs
Chris Sampson: Yankees, Red Sox, Twins, Phillies, Marlins, Reds, D-Backs
Brandon Lyon: Yankees, Red Sox, Twins, Phillies, Reds, Cubs, Twins, D-Backs, Brewers
Humberto Quintero: Dodgers
Jeff Keppinger: Tigers and Mets
J.R. Towles: Dodgers
Geoff Blum: Tigers and Mets
Jason Michaels: Angels
Matt Lindstrom: Yankees, Red Sox, Twins, Phillies, Reds, Cubs, Brewers, D-Backs

The Astros will likely trade almost all of these guys before July 31st if they don’t start winning some baseball games.

The Rockies are going to let Yorvit Torrealba walk as a free agent so they will likely be in the trade market for a catcher to split time with Chris Iannetta. With that in mind the Astros should offer them J.R. Towles for lefty starting pitcher Greg Smith. Smith did not pitch for the Rockies this season and the Astros have a huge need for starting pitching. This is the kind of trade that could help out both teams as both of the players involved have nice upsides despite the struggles they have had lately.