MLB Trade Rumors: Will Houston Astros Trade Top Players Before Deadline?

The Houston Astros' season is pretty much over.

They may still have two months left in the season, but you can go ahead and put a fork in them because they have the worst record in Major League Baseball at 33-68 and are 20 games out of first place in the National League Central. 

This just wasn't the Astros year, and now they find themselves as big-time sellers at the 2011 MLB trade deadline. With less than a week remaining until the July 31 trade deadline, the Astros don't have much time left if they plan to trade any of their top players. 

Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn and Wandy Rodriguez are the three biggest name the Astros have on the trading block. 

However, are they asking too much for these players? 

Bourn and Pence are highly coveted by a few teams contending for a playoff spot. These two guys would provide clubs with great offensive production down the stretch and into the postseason. Pence is the better player, and his asking price is much higher than Bourn's. However, it won't be cheap to get Bourn either. 

Both players are 28-years-old, and their futures are quite bright. Pence is currently hitting .308 with 11 home runs and 62 RBI, whereas Bourn is hitting .301 with one home run and 32 RBI. Bourn does have a higher on base percentage, but not by a notable margin.  

Houston has already made one trade this season by sending Jeff Keppinger to the San Francisco Giants, but it wasn't anywhere close to the type of deal we'll see if Pence and/or Bourn is traded.

 MLB.com's Brian McTaggert pointed out that sources have indicated to him that dealing for Bourn and/or Pence will come at a steep price.

Are MLB teams really willing to jump at that? 

The Astros best pitching piece to trade is Rodriguez, but not a ton of teams are interested in him anymore. The reason for that is because of a very large contract, which totals to $40 million according to SI.com's Jon Heyman, via Twitter. 

If the Astros plan to get any better in the future then they need to at least give up one of their good hitters. It appears Bourn is the one likely to go as SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that Pence is now off the trade block.

Granted, if the Astros were presented a mega deal for Pence then I believe he would be traded. After all, this is a struggling franchise with financial woes, and they need a lot of help. Dealing a top player right now would benefit Houston.

General Manager Ed Wade told Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle that, "Certainly, all players are going to be viewed not only in the context of what they bring to the table from a performance standpoint but also the economics." 

It's clear the Astros will listen intently to any and all offers, but that it will take a blockbuster type deal to part ways with Pence. Because of that, Houston needs to send Bourn packing in exchange for future talent, but they may be too stubborn to do such a thing.