New Delhi, July 30 -- HOUSTON - The last time George Springer wore a Houston Astros uniform, he was the most valuable player of a World Series. That was five years and $150 million ago. On Thursday, with the August 3 trade deadline five days away and the Astros trailing the Texas Rangers by a single game in the AL West, ESPN reported that Houston is exploring the possibility of bringing him home.

Springer is 37 now. The Toronto Blue Jays are in offload mode, looking to move salary from a contract that produced far below what they imagined when they signed it in 2021. The Astros need a right-handed bat. The transaction logic is clean enough. What it would require Houston to acknowledge is something more complicated - that the dynasty whic...