The Houston Astros have been floated as a possible landing spot for one of the top trade chips of 2024.
Through the first two months of the 2024 MLB season, no team has been a bigger disappointment than the Houston Astros. A team that has played in seven straight ALCS is 28-35 heading into the weekend, a whopping 7.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners for first in the AL West.
It’s rather obvious at this point that GM Dana Brown has to make a blockbuster trade or two, and quickly, if the Astros are to turn their season around. Otherwise, the Astros will likely be sellers heading into the July 30 trade deadline.
The Miami Marlins are widely expected to trade star pitcher Jesús Luzardo as they begin another full-scale rebuild. Last month, they traded two-time All-Star and two-time batting champion Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres.
Josh Criswell of the Houston Chronicle mentioned the Houston Astros as a possible landing spot for Luzardo, who’s under club control through the 2026 season:
“While the Astros haven’t made any blockbuster deals to bolster their rotation, they have been active on the pitching market. They acquired minor league reliever Nick Hernandez from the San Diego Padres earlier this week, and they claimed right-handers Kaleb Ort and Alex Speas off waivers last month.
It’s still unclear which teams will be sellers this summer, with the MLB trade deadline almost two months away, but Miami Marlins starter Jesús Luzardo is one name that has been popular in trade rumblings.”
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The 26-year-old Luzardo is off to a slow start in Miami, boasting a 2-5 record with a 5.30 ERA. Of course, he hasn’t had much support on a woeful Marlins team that sits at 21-41 heading into the weekend.
But Luzardo pitched like an ace during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, finishing with ERAs of 3.32 and 3.58, respectively. Last season, he finished with a career-high 200 strikeouts in 178.2 innings pitched.
Houston Astros Need Pitching Help
If the Astros are to make a big move between now and the trade deadline, it must involve a quality starting pitcher.
Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez and Christian Javier all have ERAs of below 4.00, but they’ve all struggled with consistency up to this point. Ronel Blanco has been the centerpiece of the rotation, but he can’t carry the rest of the shaky group on his own.
So it’s imperative for Houston to bring in another starter in the rotation if they’re to somehow get out of this early-season mess they unexpectedly dug themselves into.
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