The Houston Astros entered Sunday second in the AL West and just 0.5 games back of the Seattle Mariners. However, mounting injuries have prompted the club to begin exploring its options to avoid slipping down the MLB standings.
According to USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale, the Astros are letting it be known that they are ‘on the lookout’ for starting pitching with Ronel Blanco undergoing season-ending elbow surgery this coming week.
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- Houston Astros rotation stats (FanGraphs): 3.81 ERA (15th in MLB), 1.16 WHIP (6th in MLB), .224 batting average allowed (4th in MLB)
Blanco is just the latest arm to hit the injured list. The Astros are also without Spencer Arrighetti (fractured thumb) and Hayden Wesneski (Tommy John surgery). Meanwhile, Ryan Gusto (4.62 ERA) and Lance McCullers Jr (5.89 ERA) are struggling.
Heading into MLB games today, Hunter Brown (2.00 ERA and 0.92 WHIP) and Framber Valdez (3.12 ERA and 1.06 WHIP) are carrying the Astros’ rotation. With Luis Garcia (elbow) not expected back until late July, starting pitching has become a dire need for the club.
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Fortunately for Houston, a few clubs have already made it clear they’ll be sellers at the MLB trade deadline. The Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Miami Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates and Colorado Rockies will all have pitching available. Marlins’ starter Sandy Alcantara, Pirates’ starter Andrew Heaney and Orioles’s tarter Tomoyuki Sugano are all viewed as likely MLB trade candidates this summer, but no deal is imminent for the Astros as of now.
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