Willy Taveras Returning to Houston Astros? It Could Happen…

The latest Houston sports news to hit the wire (beyond, of course, the whole "Roy Oswalt wants a trade" talk) revolves around former Astros outfielder Willy Taveras.

Since leaving the Astros, Taveras has encountered quite a MLB roller coaster—spending time with the Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, and most recently the Washington Nationals.

Those same Nationals released Taveras earlier today, according to Yahoo Sports and numerous other reports.

Taveras is still speedy.

But question marks surround his ability at the plate.

Batting .200 with just four RBIs this season in Washington, the team was originally planning on sending Taveras down to their Triple-A affiliate for assignment.

In addition, according to a story in the Denver Post, Taveras was working out last week in Houston.

Will the Astros give Taveras another shot in the majors?

Can Taveras turn things around—both for himself and the team—by returning to Houston?

And, most importantly, could this reuniting even work?

With the Astros recently releasing Kaz Matsui, will they now consider signing Taveras?

If Houston’s higher-ups are interested in making something happen, I believe Willy T would be a good fit with the Astros—and who knows, maybe he’ll even begin producing at the plate.

One thing is certain: Houston’s baseball team needs all the help they can get right about now.

Taveras may be a good place to begin…

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at [e-mail]