Not that this is any reason for concern, but the Houston Astros have been rumored to not having enough money to make a deal for outfielder Alfonso Soriano from the Chicago Cubs. 

As we know, the savvy Cubs General Manager Theo Epstein would not be too enamored with a player like Soriano. He is not afraid to make trades, but unfortunately Soriano's value has dropped and twice as bad, a possible suitor like the Astros do not have enough money to afford the outfielder, possible DH. 

Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com, tweeted this information yesterday afternoon. 

DKnobler @DKnobler
Cubs also shopped Soriano to Astros as a possible DH, but Astros don't have enough money (even with Cubs contributing a lot).

Soriano presents a lot of pop smacking 32 home runs and driving in 108 in 2012. However, his strikeout numbers have yet to come down as Soriano lacks discipline at the plate.

For the Astros, it could easily be another triple-digit loss season as they are in one of the most competitive divisions in the majors. Forget the A.L. East, who contributed a great story to the MLB 2012 season, but it was the A.L. West who stole the show as the Oakland Athletics came back to steal the division from the Texas Rangers. 

The Astros couldn't even compete in the N.L. Central, let alone can we expect them to play well against the Rangers, A's and Los Angeles Angels who are forces to be reckoned with. You can't count out the Seattle Mariners either as they are looking to acquire quality ball players this offseason. 

Houston has a few players who they can build around like Jose Altuve, J.D. Martinez and Jed Lowrie. However, it will be a couple of years before the Astros can compete in the A.L. West.