Astros’ GM Jeff Luhnow and Entourage Going to Detroit

Astros GM Setting Up Trade Deadline Camp in Detroit

During last night’s loss to the Yankees, Brian McTaggart Tweeted out that Jeff Luhnow and his entourage were heading to Detroit with the team. They include Brandon Taubman (Director of Baseball Operations), Kevin Goldstein (Director of Pro Scouting), and Quinton McCracken (Director of Player personnel). Following this Tweet, Astros Twitter exploded with talk of possible trade targets on the Tigers.

Miguel Cabrera and Jordan Zimmermann‘s names were thrown left and right for targets for the Astros to trade for. However, with the Tigers in the midst of the Wild Card chase, there are no logical reasons for them to trade away players. So why are they going to Detroit?

They are going up to Detroit to set up ground control for the trade deadline. They wanted to be where the team was should the Astros make any moves at the trade deadline. For example, if they were to trade Preston Tucker, they would want to tell him to his face. With Doug Fister‘s performance yesterday, the Astros could be looking to add a rental starting pitcher according to Brian McTaggart.

McTaggart suggested that Chris Sale would cost too much, but the Astros could look at Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi, or Matt Moore of the Tampa Bay Rays. However, if we are looking for a pure rental, the names Andrew Cashner, Rich Hill, and Jeremy Hellickson could fit the bill for rotation depth. 

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It’s hard to get too excited about this year’s trade deadline with the Astros unlikely to make a move. They could go after a rental pitcher, but are they better than the options we have within such as Scott Feldman, Chris Devenski, Brady Rodgers, or Joseph Musgrove. Would the Astros have to overpay to get said pitcher? What type of impact would the rental have, we are fresh off what Scott Kazmir gave us last year?

The Astros will be active, but don’t be surprised when they only acquire a left-handed relief pitcher, but who would that pitcher replace on the Astros roster? These are all the questions probably going through the Astros front office minds at the moment. They could also make a big splash with a blockbuster.

Next: The Alex Bregman and Yulieski Gurriel Plan is Unfolding

As a writer, this has been a hard deadline with no set direction. Maybe as August 1st approaches, more clues will come out.

***Stats from Baseball-Reference***