Houston... we have a... trade partner?

[Seattle or Bust]

1) Christian Walker 1B/DH -

The M's are DHing Mitch fkn Garver right against lefties right now. So ya, Walker would fill a pretty big void in this lineup... a power hitting 1B/DH combo from the right side. He's got reverse splits right now but has still been very solid against both dexterities. The veteran has 9 homers through 42 games with an .864 OPS. He's owned $20M next season so the Astros would have to eat a substantial sum of money to get a move done, but a package for him should be pretty insignificant making this a compelling option.

2) Isaac Parades 3B -

Parades isn't the bat he was in 2023 when he hung a 130 OPS+... but he's good for about 2.5 WAR, 20 bombs, and a 110 OPS + for not a lot of $$. He's hitting for solid avg and OBP but the SLG is down... discouraging considering he was expected to hit a lot of homers into the Crawford boxes. That said, the 27 YO has a club option of $13.5M next year before he hits free agency, making him a cheap rental that won't cost much in trade return for a team that needs a right handed infielder.

3) Josh Hader RP -

Hader is injured, again, like most of the Astros... but he started his rehab back today. He's is owed $19M in each of '27 and '28 making him a pretty expensive option, but if the Astros don't figure on contending... you very well could see him moved. The M's could use an extra high leverage arm in the back of their pen given injuries and Hader being a lefty certainly helps shift the dynamic up a bit. The Astros would again have to eat some cash, but who knows... if he's solid in his return he could be a hot commodity at the trade deadline.

4) Bryan Abreu RP -

Abreu has experienced a massive dip in velocity and has really, really struggled after being one of the better setup men in baseball over the last number of years. He's lost 2.5 MPH off his FB and claims he's healthy... so who really knows what's happened. All said, he is still an elite strikeout artist... striking out over 30% of batters he's faced... putting him in the 91st %. He's a free agent after the season and if he comes around a bit he'd also be a valuable bullpen arm that would cost very little $$ wise and package wise.

5) Yordan Alvarez DH -

I don't think this is a realistic trade option given Cal's need to DH from time to time and Alvarez's inability to play the field. I also don't see him going on the market. But if the M's wanted to make a splash... Alvarez would be pretty sick. The Astros could be compelled to trade him if they want to spark a full rebuild - they have no farm and aren't going anywhere. And the M's would definitely have some pieces to help in that effort. He's a top 5 hitter in baseball. He's owed $26ish million the next 2 years which is pretty good considering his age and production. It's a very attractive contract which means tons of teams would be involved.

[D-train]

I put this in the game thread.

Parades: We already have a 3B and another waiting in the wings in the form of our top prospect
Correa: Out for the season
Walker: We already have a 1B and our DH has a .800 OPS and almost hit two Salamis tonight.
Hader: Jerry and Stanton trade for a 32 yo reliever owed almost $50M????

Walker would be $20M for the short side platoon DH. Nuts
I see you omitted Correa this time.
Parades isn't any better than Donovan
Abreu sucks ass. Not sure why you even included him.
Alvarez: You said it yourself. not an option

[Seattle or Bust]

I put this in the game thread.

Parades: We already have a 3B and another waiting in the wings in the form of our top prospect
Correa: Out for the season
Walker: We already have a 1B and our DH has a .800 OPS and almost hit two Salamis tonight.
Hader: Jerry and Stanton trade for a 32 yo reliever owed almost $50M????

Walker would be $20M for the short side platoon DH. Nuts
I see you omitted Correa this time.
Parades isn't any better than Donovan
Abreu sucks ass. Not sure why you even included him.
Alvarez: You said it yourself. not an option

I didn't see that Correa had gotten hurt as I've been traveling and not following the Astros.

Teams eat money when they're selling everything off. The M's don't like spending money or prospects. These are all solid rentals that could be had at friendly prices aside from Alvarez.

[D-train]

I put this in the game thread.

Parades: We already have a 3B and another waiting in the wings in the form of our top prospect
Correa: Out for the season
Walker: We already have a 1B and our DH has a .800 OPS and almost hit two Salamis tonight.
Hader: Jerry and Stanton trade for a 32 yo reliever owed almost $50M????

Walker would be $20M for the short side platoon DH. Nuts
I see you omitted Correa this time.
Parades isn't any better than Donovan
Abreu sucks ass. Not sure why you even included him.
Alvarez: You said it yourself. not an option

I didn't see that Correa had gotten hurt as I've been traveling and not following the Astros.

Teams eat money when they're selling everything off. The M's don't like spending money or prospects. These are all solid rentals that could be had at friendly prices aside from Alvarez.

No worries about Correa, I can't believe I knew that. Just happened to hear it one time.

I just don't see any upgrades. If this was last season and we hadn't just locked up Naylor and they were still rolling with Telez and Solano then sure Walker would be great for 1B but we did sign Naylor for 1B and since his horrid start he is at .333/.899 since April 13th, a full month.

Where is Donovan going to play if we got Parades? I just don't think they have any interest in him or they would have picked him up before now.

Screenshot 2026-05-13 072052.png (17.79 KiB) Viewed 505 times

[D-train]

Hader would be awesome if they were willing to eat 2/3 of his salary. I would be willing to pay him 2/3 of his salary but you know they won't.

[DavidGee24]

I put this in the game thread.

Parades: We already have a 3B and another waiting in the wings in the form of our top prospect
Correa: Out for the season
Walker: We already have a 1B and our DH has a .800 OPS and almost hit two Salamis tonight.
Hader: Jerry and Stanton trade for a 32 yo reliever owed almost $50M????

Walker would be $20M for the short side platoon DH. Nuts
I see you omitted Correa this time.
Parades isn't any better than Donovan
Abreu sucks ass. Not sure why you even included him.
Alvarez: You said it yourself. not an option

Yeah, this one's a head-scratcher. The Astros aren't going to deal good players to us. It's probably been ten years since we've dealt within the division and that was the A's in three consecutive seasons dumping underwhelming first basemen (Yonder Alonso, Danny Valencia and Ryon Healy) off on us. The last time we had a significant deal within the division was the Cliff Lee trade to the Rangers in 2010.

[Donn Beach]

Yeah, terms of actually picking up salary, Jim Crame isn't paying Josh Hader to go help the Mariners win a WS

[Seattle or Bust]

I put this in the game thread.

Parades: We already have a 3B and another waiting in the wings in the form of our top prospect
Correa: Out for the season
Walker: We already have a 1B and our DH has a .800 OPS and almost hit two Salamis tonight.
Hader: Jerry and Stanton trade for a 32 yo reliever owed almost $50M????

Walker would be $20M for the short side platoon DH. Nuts
I see you omitted Correa this time.
Parades isn't any better than Donovan
Abreu sucks ass. Not sure why you even included him.
Alvarez: You said it yourself. not an option

Yeah, this one's a head-scratcher. The Astros aren't going to deal good players to us. It's probably been ten years since we've dealt within the division and that was the A's in three consecutive seasons dumping underwhelming first basemen (Yonder Alonso, Danny Valencia and Ryon Healy) off on us. The last time we had a significant deal within the division was the Cliff Lee trade to the Rangers in 2010.

How quickly we forget Kendall Graveman for Abraham Toro.

Never say never. They’ll trade rentals if the price is right.

[DavidGee24]

I put this in the game thread.


Walker would be $20M for the short side platoon DH. Nuts
I see you omitted Correa this time.
Parades isn't any better than Donovan
Abreu sucks ass. Not sure why you even included him.
Alvarez: You said it yourself. not an option

Yeah, this one's a head-scratcher. The Astros aren't going to deal good players to us. It's probably been ten years since we've dealt within the division and that was the A's in three consecutive seasons dumping underwhelming first basemen (Yonder Alonso, Danny Valencia and Ryon Healy) off on us. The last time we had a significant deal within the division was the Cliff Lee trade to the Rangers in 2010.

How quickly we forget Kendall Graveman for Abraham Toro.

Never say never. They’ll trade rentals if the price is right.

Ah, I did forget that one, and Google ("Mariners trades with Astros history") let me down. In my defense, that was the only good season of Graveman's career and Toro sucked. These guys other than Abreu are established players that they're not going to give to us.

[D-train]

I put this in the game thread.


Walker would be $20M for the short side platoon DH. Nuts
I see you omitted Correa this time.
Parades isn't any better than Donovan
Abreu sucks ass. Not sure why you even included him.
Alvarez: You said it yourself. not an option

Yeah, this one's a head-scratcher. The Astros aren't going to deal good players to us. It's probably been ten years since we've dealt within the division and that was the A's in three consecutive seasons dumping underwhelming first basemen (Yonder Alonso, Danny Valencia and Ryon Healy) off on us. The last time we had a significant deal within the division was the Cliff Lee trade to the Rangers in 2010.

How quickly we forget Kendall Graveman for Abraham Toro.

Never say never. They’ll trade rentals if the price is right.

Well if we can get another Toro from them then all bets are off. lol