The Houston Astros are reportedly interested in trading for Nationals first baseman Josh Bell.

That should register low on the Shock Scale considering the production, or lack thereof, that the Astros have received from their incumbent, Yuli Gurriel, who has fallen off a statistical cliff since finishing last season as the American League batting champion and as the AL’s Gold Glove winner at first.

But would the Astros actually look to replace a key cog of their longtime core in mid-season?

Through 85 games and 333 plate appearances this season, Gurriel has been exactly league average at the dish, producing a .235/.285/.384 slash line with an OPS+ of 89 and 92 wRC+, all of which are well below his career averages of .287/.331/.458, with a career average OPS+ of 113 and 114 wRC+.

Coming off his best individual season yet, with a .319/.383/.462 slash and 134 wRC+, Gurriel’s offensive slide has been one of the few lowlights in an otherwise sterling season for the Astros.

While Gurriel’s campaign has, thus far, been a disappointment, he’s managed to show some life at the plate since June 15, rolling out a .284/.333/.474 slash line in that time, though it would be wise to still heed the troubling trends thus far.

Gurriel’s approach has been fundamentally different this season, with his chase rate escalating from a career-low 29.8% in 2021 to 37.4% in 2022, though his ’22 rate is more in-line with his career averages, it’s still higher.

The 38-year-old veteran is also posting career-lows in line-drive percentage (17.7%) and groundball percentage (37.6%) and career-highs in flyball percentage (44.7%) and infield flyball percentage (14.3%).

All of this is to say that Gurriel is posting career-worst numbers across the board, popping up a ton more and creating less chaos in front of him. At this rate, considering a replacement for the impending free agent and longtime Astro should not come as a surprise.

Compounding his issues at the plate is Gurriel’s issues in the field. The 2021 Gold Glove winner has posted a UZR of -0.7 thus far, marking a steep decline from his high watermark defensive seasons in 2019 (0.8 UZR) and 2020 (0.9 UZR).

At age 38, with free agency looming, Gurriel’s numbers seem to warrant an in-season replacement, and few could have the superior impact that Josh Bell would have.

Through 94 games and 398 plate appearances this season, Bell has raked to a .308/.389/.500 slash line with an OPS+ of 157 and 146 wRC+.

All of which are career-highs for the 29-year-old Irving, Texas native who, like Gurriel, is set to reach free agency at season’s end after two years in DC.

Bell’s two-year tenure in Washington has been a rousing individual success for the former second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates and has helped catapult him to being a mortal lock to be moved to a contender by the August 2 deadline.

But Gurriel’s status as a stalwart for the Astros on and off the field is set.

Any acquisition of Bell would instantly relegate Gurriel, one of the four remaining members of Houston’s 2017 World Series championship team, to a utility role.

While the Astros have withstood the departures of core members like George Springer, Carlos Correa, Dallas Keuchel, and Gerrit Cole, they’ve never had to deal with the demotion, or loss, of one at mid-season.

How would the Astros handle it? How would Gurriel handle it?

Furthermore, the issue of who will play first base beyond 2022 will soon become a major topic in Houston, even if the team acquires Bell prior to the deadline.

By season’s end, both Gurriel and Bell are free agents. The Astros do not possess an adequate replacement for either player in-house.

They could roll with J.J. Matijevic, 26, or Taylor Jones, 28, but neither inspires much confidence for a team intent on continuing to compete for championships beyond 2022.

This Winter’s free agent crop of first baseman, likewise, inspires little confidence beyond Bell and Baltimore’s Trey Mancini.

It’ll be a tricky proposition for the Astros to balance a graceful end to Gurriel’s productive tenure as the first baseman in Houston, a potential in-season replacement for Gurriel, and the path forward beyond 2022.

There is no questioning the superiority of Josh Bell now over Yuli Gurriel now, but team chemistry is a delicate and earned thing. Houston general manager James Click will have a lot to consider going forward, but there is no doubt that, on paper, Josh Bell makes an already-formidable Astros team all the more daunting for opposing pitchers.