Astros trade rumors: Orioles interested in L.J. Hoes, Alex Presley

The Orioles have interest in acquiring Astros' outfielders L.J. Hoes and Alex Presley, according to a report from Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. Both players are currently stashed at Triple-A, but could be moved in order to open spots on the 40-man roster in advance of the trade deadline.

Houston is expected to be aggressive in their pursuit of starting pitching next month, and is expected to draw from their pool of young depth in order to acquire a front-line arm. The Orioles, who have dealt with struggles from Chris Tillman and ex-Astro Bud Norris all season, are unlikely to deal a starter, but appear to be on the lookout for outfield depth. The team currently has Delmon Young and David Lough as their prime backup options, and will likely look to make some additions before the deadline.

Hoes, 25, was originally acquired by the Astros in the trade that sent Norris to Baltimore, and has appeared in 103 major-league games over three seasons, hitting .238/.290/.334 before being demoted to Triple-A. He is currently on the seven-day disabled list at Triple-A, but has regained some value after hitting .335/.417/.466 with three homers in 59 games.

Presley, 29, has not appeared in the majors for the Astros this year after seeing time in the bigs at some point during the last five seasons. The outfielder has hit .307/.340/.382 with two home runs in 61 games for Fresno.

Although Hoes and Presley have played well for Triple-A, the emergence of George Springer, Preston Tucker and Domingo Santana in the Astros' outfield has made promotions unlikely. Being traded to a team like Baltimore may help resurrect the careers of two players with major-league experience who seem blocked with their current organization.