The astros have a business interest in the ex-Dodger who criticized the organization

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A look at the scoreboard at Minute Maid Park in Houston on April 8, 2017. Photo Credit: Larry Brown/Larry Brown Sports

The Houston Astros could be about to make the trickiest trade of the 2023 deadline.

The Astros have a trade interest in Chicago Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. For now, interest appears to be preliminary, but the Astros have at least checked with the Cubs on the Bellingers’ availability.

From a baseball perspective, Bellinger is a great fit for what the Astros need. Houston has been open about its interest in acquiring a left-handed hitter, and Bellinger ticks that box. He’s also having a great season in Chicago, hitting .305 with 12 home runs in 60 games.

There is, however, one notable factor. Bellinger was a standout player on the 2017 Los Angeles Dodgers team that lost to the Astros in the World Series. This Astros team was later discovered to have stolen signs illegally for much of the season, and Bellinger was extremely critical of the Astros following these revelations. He even suggested he believed the theories claiming the Astros, especially Jose Altuve, found other ways to cheat throughout the 2019 campaign.

While many players from the 2017 and 2019 squads have left Houston, Altuve is among those who haven’t, so Bellinger is expected to share the clubhouse with some players he’s been very critical of publicly. He can’t actually do anything to keep himself from being traded to Houston, although the Astros will probably want to make sure a deal like this won’t be a problem for the team or the player. If they went through with the deal, there would likely be some awkwardness initially, no matter what is said publicly.

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