THE Houston Astros are heading into the offseason after experiencing their first playoff outing in nearly a decade after being eliminated by the Detroit Tigers in the Wild Card round that ended their streak of seven consecutive ALCS appearances.

When it comes to figuring out how to fix things and where they might need to make acquisitions, one of the positions they need to start with is first base.

They haven’t had horrible production from a platoon of Jon Singleton, Victor Caratini and Mauricio Dubón, but bringing in someone who can play that position every day and become a net positive in the Roster should be one of the top offseason priorities. for Houston.

THE St. Louis Cardinals made headlines at the annual general managers meetings when it was revealed that three-time All-Star catcher Willson Contreras would move to first base with younger options behind him at catcher.

With the Cardinals appearing ready to begin a salary-loss rebuild, perhaps they could instead send Contreras to the Astros where he could play a combination of first base, catcher and designated hitter.

Will Leitch of MLB.com named Houston as a possibility for Contreras after narrowly missing out on signing him two years ago before he went to St. Louis.

“If available, Contreras would instantly become one of the best upgrades in the sport – a catcher who can rake, is better behind the plate than most people think and, don’t forget, a World Series champion and a intense competitor,” Leitch wrote. “His bat plays anywhere, it doesn’t matter. San Diego would be a nice place to land, as would Houston, a team he almost signed with rather than the Cardinals in the first place.”

Contreras would likely take some time to warm up to the first base position if Houston really wanted to make him their everyday option, but his bat would more than make up for any growing pains in the field.

2024 was a tough season for the veteran, as he only played in 84 games due to injury issues, but he was still effective with an OPS of .848 when he was on the field.

If the Astros want to get creative, making a move for Contreras would certainly be exactly that.

Something they would have to overcome is the slugger stating he won’t waive his no-trade clause, which complicates the situation, but if that changes over the course of this winter, then Houston should be interested in completing this agreement.