No Need for Houston Astros to Make A Deal

Do the Astros Really Need a Trade?

May 2, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher

(31) pitches during the game against the Seattle Mariners at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

There’s an easy way to sum all that up. Making a deal doesn’t guarantee you anything, other than your team will get talked about on Trade Deadline Day broadcasts like MLB Now and Baseball Tonight.

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This year, it is the Astros who are the surprise team. They weren’t supposed to be doing this until 2017. Sports Illustrated said so. But someone forgot to tell the players, and they have jumped the gun. Right now, they are being led by

and the rebuilt bullpen that is learning how to put a foot on the other team just like last year’s Royals. And now there are calls that the team needs something. A dominant ace. A dependable middle of the rotation guy. Maybe two of those guys. Another arm in the bullpen.

Plenty of names are being tossed around. From Cincinnati’s Johnny Cueto and Aroldis Chapman. To Oakland’s Scott Kazmir and Philadelphia’s Cole Hamels. Even the Samardzija as mentioned earlier, who is in his first season with the White Sox. All are fine pitchers and can be seen as upgrades to the Astro rotation. But would what they might bring to Houston for two months outweigh the cost to get them into an Astro uniform? After Samardzija was traded to Oakland last year, he started 16 games and went 5-6. Beane could have found that kind of production in his system without making a deal. Yes, one of them could come in and reel off an August and September reminiscent of Johnson but none of these pitchers is in his class, and the odds are against it.

Houston’s fast start this season has given it some breathing room. According to Fangraphs, they have a 61.4% chance of making the postseason. Only the Tigers have a higher chance of making the playoffs in the AL. Heading into this weekend’s series with the White Sox, Houston stands at 30-18. They can go 57-57 the rest of the season and still finish with 87 wins.  The Astros have holes and needs. But the question is, do they need to fill those holes through trades? Or can they find what they need to get those 57 or more wins from within the organization?

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