Two recent reports are starting to give us a better picture of what the Astros will do at the trading deadline.
For starters, Hunter Pence does not want to be traded. At least, that's what he tells Richard Justice in this article. It's refreshing to hear that from a player one year after Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman asked out to play for contenders. Houston needs a player like Pence to keep the team from completely falling apart. I know he'd bring a lot in return, but Houston could also use a player like him to shepherd the younger guys to the major leagues. It could also just be posturing by both sides to get a lucrative contract for Pence with either the Astros or a new team.
The other report that came out Thursday is that Wandy Rodriguez may be on Detroit's radar as they look to add pitching. I broke down possible trade scenarios on TCB, but the general consensus was that Detroit's top prospect Jacob Turner is untouchable.
Some of the commenters over at Bless You Boys suggested that the Tigers might also be interested in Jeff Keppinger. Combining the two might just be a big enough deal to get the Tigers to move Turner. After all, they've been known to trade prospects before in big deals, like when they moved Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller for Miguel Cabrera. Wandy isn't on the same level, but has been lights-out in his past 32 starts.