Astros general manager Dana Brown hasn’t been shy about his desire to add a left-handed bat to his lineup, publicly calling that his front office’s focus as recently as two weeks ago. However, asked this morning during his weekly appearance on 790 AM’s Sean Salisbury Show where he’d make an upgrade if he could only improve at one spot on his roster, the first-year GM changed course and suggested it’d be in the rotation (link contains full audio of the 11-minute interview).
“With the pitchers that we’ve had going down, it could put us in a situation where we come up short or we don’t get to that next round of the playoffs,” said Brown. “A good arm would be really, really helpful. … The problem is, there are not many good arms out there.”
[Related: Top 50 Deadline Trade Candidates]
Houston has seen more than its share of rotation injuries in 2023. Lance McCullers Jr. won’t pitch this year after undergoing flexor tendon surgery, and the ’Stros have also lost fellow righty Luis Garcia to Tommy John surgery. Jose Urquidy has been out since late April due to a shoulder injury. And, since Brown’s last comments about prioritizing a bat, he’s revealed that ace Framber Valdez has been pitching through an ankle sprain. Meanwhile, right-hander Cristian Javier has been slumping (22 runs in his past 21 1/3 innings) and had his spot in the rotation skipped over leading into the break. Brown indicated this morning that Javier simply “needed a breather” and gave no indication that the right-hander is dealing with any sort of injury.
As it stands, the Astros are leaning on Valdez (ostensibly at less than 100%), Brandon Bielak and rookies Hunter Brown and J.P. France. Presumably, Javier will slot back into the rotation early in the second half. Houston has taken a look at right-handers Ronel Blanco and Shawn Dubin in the rotation, too. By and large, it’s a group of inexperienced starters. Outside of Brown, none of the rookies were considered particularly high-end prospects. Each of Brown, Bielak, France and Dubin is already approaching his 2022 innings total; Blanco has already exceeded last year’s workload. Urquidy has not yet begun a minor league rehab assignment.
Even with those injuries and workload concerns, Houston starters rank fourth in the Majors with a 3.74 ERA. Valdez’s outstanding year plays a large role in that collective figure, but Houston’s in-house rotation reinforcements have undeniably done a nice job in keeping the team afloat. With each rapidly approaching last year’s innings tally and with Valdez at least somewhat banged up, it’s natural to hear Brown express a desire to bolster the group.
In prior comments, Brown made clear that he’s not interested in parting with the top prospects in his system in exchange for rental players. Pitchers controlled beyond the current season could potentially fall into a different category, and if there are teams willing to put controllable arms up for sale, the Astros could be more apt to part with higher-end talent. Lucas Giolito, Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty and Michael Lorenzen are among the rental arms expected to be available, while more controllable trade candidates include Shane Bieber and Paul Blackburn. Righties Kyle Hendricks and Lance Lynn both have team options for the 2024 season, though Lynn could be trending toward a buyout. Marcus Stroman and Eduardo Rodriguez have opt-out opportunities this winter, so they’ll be treated as rentals, at best, by interested parties.
Martin Perez can be dumped. The Astros are also looking to deal outfielders. A division rival can be a friend at times like this.
Keep him. Astros don’t need a scrub.
degrom texas ranger has the lowest IQ on this site, don’t listen to their garbage ideas. There’s a reason they’re a Rangers fan, they are clueless.
Jordon Monterrey or jack Flaherty’s should ld be available
I agree the Astros need an arm, but they should be getting Urquidy back soon. To me, they really need a bat as well. Not saying a huge addition, since they get Yordan back soon but their lineup really falls off after the first few hitters whenever I watch them. And now with Altuve being hurt again and Brantley being a huge question mark, I think a bat makes a ton of sense.
The innings on Hunter Brown and Christian Javier are a problem. A few of the Astros relief pitchers are also getting used very heavily. Urquidy coming back and pitching okay will help, but they really need to find someone who can soak up innings. Doesn’t need to be an ace. I think the team should try for two starters, a more top flight, #3ish and an innings eater.
Agree. If I were them I would trade for a #3 and sign Mad Bum to eat innings
Mad Bum is cooked. You’re better off with Brandon Bielak.
Yes. Sign MadBum to soak up 3.1 innings each start. He is toast and very cranky as well. He has not been able to adjust to the way young players are these days with the slow home run trots, batflips and stylish celebrating.
Bummy is beyond cooked. 2700 innings in pro ball by age 33. If he eats innings, it’s only to puke them back up. He needs a couple of years off, just in case that does anything for him. Otherwise he’d done, done, done.
Nah. Brown threw 157 MLB innings last year, and has barely avg’ed 90 pitches a start in his last 6 starts. He’s fine.
They can probably get Carlos Carrasco, who’s pitched quite well for his last 5-6 starts, Patrick Corbin, or Jordan Lyles for a middling prospect.
Lyles will eat all the innings you need him to – super durable – but you have to live with his 6.50+ ERA and the second year of his current contract.
Yes. But pitching is at a premium. Mets are not just going to trade him. They are going to want something pretty good back. Not a middling prospect
But I am pretty sure Carrasco is in his walk year, so he would be a rental guy.
Trading Gio would be a no brainier for the Astros. Brown doesn’t want to trade high end prospects. I doubt the Sox even know what that is.
he’d get away with a mid tier because that would be top tier in the south side
Shane Bieber to the Stros.. Send one of those OF’ers the Stros want to move along with Whitley and Lee… Deal?????
Deal.
I mean Whitley is a busted prospect & Korey Lee is a future backup C.
He just went in for a MRI
I’d try to get 2 innings eaters with mid tier prospects. Let Valdez, Javier, and Brown be your guys in the playoffs.
I agree. The playoffs aren’t a big worry for me if Javier and Brown are their normal selves. Getting there and keeping their innings in check is the goal. Same with the relievers. They could use another arm, got no lefties.
They haven’t used a lefty reliever in 4 years. Not permanently anyway.
Javier has looked awful of late, but Brown has a previous career-high of 120 IP and he’s at 94 IP already. Even with a gradual increase, I don’t know you can count on him for much in post-AS AND playoffs.
they may have to go 6 man to keep his innings in check. 6 man and have him go no more than 5 max
Verlander in a do-over? Uncle Steve paid me in stock tips to post this.
Or Scherzer.
What would be really great is if MTR indicated what needy teams might be able to offer in return. In other words, what might Houston have that the Cardinals would want back for Monty or Flaherty? If there isn;t traction in both directions, the possibility for trading is nill. It’s not enough that the ‘Stros might want Montgomery b/c the Cardinals would only have interest if Houston could offer something they need in return.. Please add this to your trade scenarios. Thanks.
a cards trade is tough because they have an amazing prospect pool already and are w club wanting to compete.
Cardinals would want controllable pitching for rental pitching. Their season is shot. Are the Astros going to trade the future for a rental or two? Two teams, both looking for pitching don’t seem to mesh.
@robster: They likely don’t do that because while the number of veteran players who might be traded is finite, there are myriad possible scenarios involving a much larger universe of younger players and prospects.
Somebody is gonna get a Bellinger/Stroman package..as much as I want my cubs to turn it around..when we end up selling off hope we get something decent.
The Cubs probably would do better trading Bellinger and Stroman separately.
Dana Brown has no power and is nothing more than a smiling yes man for the ownership group.
While the Astros have been that, Brown has never been that. Is only-title enough to relinquish control, which he had in spades in ATL? Sure, AA got/gets a lot of credit, but everyone knows that all the waves of homegrown development came from DB. His 2020 Draft alone should get him consideration anywhere. If that’s the case, I wonder if we’d see a lateral move to another org down the line.
All we know is that Dana Brown was hand picked by ownership. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve seen nothing to suggest micromanagement by ownership of Brown’s major transactions.
Brown was brought in with the purpose of extracting value from a weak farm system, very similar to the situation in Atlanta. His track record makes him the right candidate to lead Houston through a short retool.
Quick addendum: James Click was an obvious placeholder who clashed with ownership. Every one of his coups had a corresponding screwup. The Astros gave away far too much at last year’s trade deadline and these deals will only get worse over time.
Houston will have to inevitability are retool in the next few years. Brown has the superior acumen for scouting and drafting.
It’s insane the Astros are anywhere close to the playoffs with the injuries they have had this year.
This may be as close as they get. They are walking on highwires with that pitching staff and have really lucked out so far. And that bullpen is stretched to the max with guys already in 40+ games. Their arms will be falling off soon. Astros need more than one good innings eater.
They have a deep farm, balanced payroll and good business plan. Spreading your resources around minimizes your down cycles and keeps your window open longer.
The Astros want a top flight starter but don’t want to deal a top prospect haha yeah good luck with that
How does…
“Brown made clear that he’s not interested in parting with the top prospects in his system in exchange for rental players”
turn into…
“The Astros want a top flight starter but don’t want to deal a top prospect haha yeah good luck with that”
Curious about the signal flow.
You still have to pay top dollar for a top rental don’t blame me that’s a fact you want Drew Smyly you don’t pay as much simple
No judgement here.
Just curious how you can read, “Astros want controllable arms not high priced rentals” and interpret it as, “the Astros want a top flight starter but don’t want to deal a top prospect.”
I figure they want an innings eater that is under contract for more than a half a season. Ease up the workload on the young arms that have been a pleasant surprise.
I thought the same thing. You want pitching which is at a premium but don’t want to trade what it’s going to take. They say they are willing to trade OF’s. Only OF worth anything is Tucker.
They have outfield prospects with value. Pedro Leon and Drew Gilbert would both draw interest, but I can’t imagine the Astros parting with either for a rental. I could see them trading one of the major league outfielders and a blocked prospect for a lower tier starter or a solid pen arm. I seriously doubt the Astros make any big splash trades.
I’ve been thinking for a while giolito will end up in houston.. we’ll see
Not sure what they would give in return
I think the Astros will be outbid for anybody like Giolito. I see Giolito going to the Yankees or Orioles , who have way more coveted assets than the Astros do. I don’t know who the Astros could outbid for anything actually.
The number one priority for the Yankees has to be to offense. I think they line up well with the Nationals for a Candelario and/or Meneses trade.
Okay so you have Cole and German and Rodón at the moment in your starting rotation, and then AAA guys and Severino. Yes Yanks need offense but that starting pitching depth is nearly shot. Who knows what Cortes will be like when he returns.
The Yankees are 5th in the AL in team ERA and ninth in runs scored, which includes Judge’s infrequent production. The offense is the highest priority.
Schmidt has also been greatly improved recently and Rodon is getting back to full strength. Our rotation is more than adequate for a short playoff series.
I thought the orioles made the most sense in terms of need and return value, but i hear they’re standing pretty firm on not giving up higher end prospects for a rental
That’s dumb because they have a plethora of nice trading chips and they aren’t going to be able to play them all on their big league roster later on. You would think one strong starting pitching acquisition like Giolito or Stroman would be enough to push them to an assured playoff spot. Why wouldn’t they make that effort? (I’m an M’s fan, so I hope they don’t, but still, it would not look good if they just roll with what they have at the deadline.)
I think the Yanks need bats more than starters. That offense without Judge is atrocious. They need two bats, really.
Tigers have Erod and Lorenzen. Both have pitched well this year. Not sure what Houston might have other than maybe Korey Lee that they would be interested in. Might not be a fit there.
Astros farm is incredibly weak, they can’t get a top guy even if they wanted.
Tell us you know nothing about baseball without telling us you know nothing about baseball. Clueless, no wonder your name is toast.
is this a joke or are you just a homer? maybe drunk? Fangraphs, MLB.com, Prospects1500, they’re ranked like 27/28th on all three. they weren’t much better on last years lists either IIRC. Korey Lee is still one of their “best” prospects, which should tell you everything you need to know about them.
they have some interesting guys like Corona and Arrigheti without much pedigree, but outside of their top 2/3, which they won’t move, their system lacks much value at all. or certainly the kind of value that gets top arms
I can name more MiLB players than mlb guys. Just because what I said makes you angry doesn’t make it wrong
Michael Lorenzen would be a perfect fit in Houston
I see a possible reunion with Verlander in the air! Mets fire sale
Astros need 2 starters in reality to ease the burden on Javier and Brown. Maybe Grienke would be interested in a reunion to go out on a contender. ERod makes sense too as the Tigers could use some offense and the Tigers would probably be better getting something for him now rather than nothing if he opts out
Mets could dump JV and MS
Blow the farm for Ohtani.
As far as a left handed bat goes, I’d call the Twins about Andrew Stevenson, who is at AAA St. Paul. He can play all 3 OF spots above average, has above average speed, and has rediscovered some of his offensive game. If the Twins have a SP on the block, they could probably be had for a lottery ticket or two. Asking the Royals about Grienke may be another option.
With all of their injuries it seems unlikely the Astros can do much in the playoffs even if they get some help at the deadline. Giving up
prospects for a rental seems like a very bad idea. If they can get controllable players, great, but given the shape of their farm, that seems pretty unlikely.
Ohtani is your LH bat and your ace pitcher. Done
That would be a very expensive rental.
No guts no glory. Win a WS. Might even resign him. Bat him in front of or behind Yordan. My oh my. Not like Astros don’t have the dough or an owner who spends. Saved a ton not signing Verlander and Correa. Use that on Ohtani
Given the state of their rotation and all the innings their pen has had to work do you really think one SP is going to be enough to win it all again? Framber is dependable. Nobody else is. Hard to see them winning it all with just 2 SP, even if one of them is Ohtani.
It’s never enough. Playoffs are a crap shoot. No guarantees of anything. Ohtani certainly though would help 🙂
Astros needs in order, it’s actually very close between 1st and 2nd needs but 1st is still clear.
1. Relief pitching and I mean multiple relievers, Stors have lost 12 games this year in the 8th and 9th innings. You expect a WS contender to win most if not all of these games but lets just say they win half, that puts them 4 games in first and winning 10 of the 12 puts them 8 games in first. This just cannot go on any longer if the stros want to compete for another WS this year. The 12 games are just the late inning losses, these other games that the bullpen could hold out throughout the game and they ended up losing too but the late inning meltdowns need to stop now and that’s why relief pitching is number 1 need.
2. Bats!!! There are just way too many games that the pitching did play strong and the bats couldn’t score more than a run or two (and often none) leaving the starters high and dry!!! Case and point, Framber Valdez should be far and the other front runner for Cy Young (Shane McClanahan the other) this season. Leads the majors with a 2.51 ERA but is 7-6, THAT MEANS THAT MOST LIKELY THE TEAM HASN’T SCORED 2 RUNS IN HIS STARTS!!! RIDICULES!!! I have this as number 2 need because this can be fixed a little easier than the bullpen but make no mistake, the bats for probably lost more close games than the pen. Getting Alvarez back will help but I’ve written Michael Brantley off even though we really need that bat. He just hasn’t shown any cause for hope so it’s best to move on. Bregman, Pena, Abreu, and to a smaller degree Altuve have all been let downs to major let downs. Guys like Bregman need to step it up and find that love that he had when he was an MVP candidate because he has been trash for the most part of 3 years now. I would like to see a real help at 1st with a strong bat and a strong DH bat. All in all the Astros need to find at least 3 players between the bullpen and bats to repeat.
3. Starting pitching, you can always use more but I think this is a position that the Stros can make do with unless there is a top level starter that will be with the team for a few years after this season. Getting healthy will help the starters and I think you can win it all with this lineup if the bats and bullpen start pulling their weight.
The Mets have Scherzer, Verlander or Carrasco for you
Well you probably didn’t read through because I already said we’re good with our starters but I’ll still reply.
Sure, if the Mets are giving them for free and paying half of the remaining salary I’d say yes.
Wonder what it would take for Civale?
Gilbert and?
For crying out loud, Steve needs to learn how to properly use commas. When starting the sentence, “and” should not have a comma after it.
“And since Brown’s last comments about prioritizing a bat, he’s revealed that ace Framber Valdez has been pitching through an ankle sprain.”
This is correct, not the way it’s seen in the article. And “too” should never have a comma before it. Stop adding commas when they’re not needed. It just makes your sentences harder to read.
Joe Kelley to the Astros would be interesting.