The Astros’ latest roster shakeup has pushed a familiar problem right back to the front of the line: they still need help in the outfield, and they need it from the left side.
Houston sent Joey Loperfido and Jake Meyers to Sugar Land ahead of the club’s July 4 matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays, a move that only sharpened the urgency around the position. Loperfido’s demotion was disappointing, but not exactly shocking.
Meyers’ trip down, though, lands harder. It’s a reminder that the Astros passed on moving him when his value was at its highest, and now they’re left trying to solve both the left-handed bat issue and the center field question at the same time.
According to MLB insider Bob Nightengale, Houston is already looking at a pair of possible answers in Colorado’s Mickey Moniak and Jake McCarthy.
On paper, both fit the bill. They hit left-handed.
They can handle center field. They’re having career years.
And they’re under affordable team control, with Moniak controlled through 2027 and McCarthy through 2028. For a club working against the luxury tax and short on prospect capital, that matters.
But there’s plenty here to make Houston pause.
Moniak, the former first-overall pick in 2016, and McCarthy, a comp pick taken 39th overall in 2018, both took long and winding routes to relevance. Moniak was traded to the Los Angeles Angels as a prospect in the Noah Syndergaard deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, then struggled to establish himself in Los Angeles.
He was DFA ahead of the 2025 season and restarted his career in Colorado. Last year he hit .270/.306/.518 with 24 homers, and in 56 games this season he’s up to .277/.329/.602 with 15 dingers.
McCarthy’s path has been just as uneven. He spent years with the Arizona Diamondbacks, bouncing between stretches that looked a little better than average and stretches where he looked completely lost.
In 2025, he hit .204/.247/.345 with four homers in 67 games. This year, he’s been a different player entirely, batting .306/.343/.522 with nine homers in 76 games.
That’s where the warning lights start flashing. Late-20s breakouts deserve a hard look, and Moniak is 28 while McCarthy is 29.
The Coors Field split only adds to the skepticism. Since the start of last season, Moniak has hit just .227/.261/.421 away from the altitude. McCarthy has been better on the road at .292/.333/.434, but that still pales next to his .317/.351/.592 line at home.
So the Astros are left where they’ve been too often: needing to buy something imperfect because the market and their own roster leave them little choice. The need is real, the options are limited, and the price will decide whether this looks like a smart fix or another version of the Jesús Sánchez mistake.
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