Astros Trade Rumors: Underrated left-handed bullpen options

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SEATTLE, WA – JUNE 24: Reliever Tony Sipp #29 of the Houston Astros delivers a pitch during the seventh inning of a game against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field on June 24, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. The Astros won 5-2. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) /

The Astros are going into the trade deadline with the need of a left-handed pitcher the bullpen. With big names such as Justin Wilson, Sean Doolittle, and National League All-Star Brad Hand on their radar, it seems like those would be very expensive answers to a very fixable problem. Here are three under-the-radar names that could be able to fix the bullpen depth issue.

Aaron Loup

After putting up good numbers in his first three seasons as a part of the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen, Loup has seemed to regress since the 2015 season. His ERA has been over 4.40 over the last three seasons with a WHIP north of 1.25 as well.

This season is no different. In 40 outings, Loup has a 4.60 ERA with a 1.60 WHIP. Posting a respectable .268 batting average against, his lowest since 2014, he strikes out about a batter per inning, with 31 strikeouts in 31.1 innings pitched.

Even though these numbers may not be impressive, Loup has the stuff that the Astros like in a left-handed reliever. Throwing a 92 mph sinker 68.2 percent of the time, Loup is a ground ball pitcher, generating a ground ball percentage of 50 percent or more in five of his six career major league seasons.

What he can offer.

The part that the Astros should be more excited about Loup with is the lack of home runs that he has given up this season. He has only given up two home runs in his 31.1 innings of work. Right now, Loup only allows eight percent of his fly balls leave the yard, a career low for the 29-year-old left-hander. To compare, Tony Sipp, the Astros only current option as a left-handed reliever, is currently letting a career-low 13.6 percent of fly balls leave the yard.

Loup does have some control issues to address. Giving up an average of 4.88 walks per nine innings, he is walking opposing batters 11.4 percent of the time, the highest rate of his career.

Loup is not a flashy pitcher by any means. However, as a left-handed reliever in the middle of a one-year $1.1 million dollar contract with the last place Blue Jays team. He may be an option as an add-in for a trade for an ace-like starting pitcher, such as Marco Estrada or Marcus Stroman, or a smaller deal for some lower level prospects.

Jerry Blevins

Blevins has been around the game of baseball for a while. Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 17^th round of the 2004 MLB Draft, Blevins made a name for himself as a left-handed specialist for the Oakland A’s from 2007-2013. Now, he is doing the same thing in his third season with the New York Mets.

This season, he has been one of the most reliable relievers for Mets manager Terry Collins to call on. In 44 appearances, Blevins has a 3.54 ERA with a 1.39 WHIP. With only a .224 batting average against, he has only given up 24 hits and has struck out 39 in 28 innings pitched.

Unlike Loup, Blevins is not a ground ball pitcher. He likes to rely on the strikeout. Averaging a career high 12.54 strikeouts per nine innings, Blevins is striking out 32 percent of batters faced this season.

Not a flame-thrower!

The baffling thing is that he is putting up these numbers without overpowering stuff. Blevins averages in the high-eighties to low-nineties on his four-seam fastball and low-eighties on his changeup, throwing this combination 95.5 percent of the time.

When he is not striking hitters out, Blevins has been generating a relatively equal amount of fly balls and ground balls. His fly ball percentage is only 3.1 percentage points lower than his ground ball percentage. However, Blevins has shown that he is becoming more of a groundball pitcher. Since he has been with the Mets, he has not had a ground ball percentage lower than 40 percent.

As a well-known name in the baseball community, Blevins may be a bit more expensive to get than Loup. However, with the numbers he has put up in his career, it seems like he would be a good compliment to Sipp in the Astros bullpen.

Tony Cingrani

Once a top prospect as a starter for the Cincinnati Reds, Cingrani’s career has had its ups and downs. However, with a change of scenery, he could be an electric option to come out of the bullpen for the Astros.

He has been showing that potential in his limited time out of the bullpen this season for the Reds. After spending much of the beginning of the season on the 10-day disabled list with a strained right oblique, Cingrani has a 2.70 ERA with a 1.02 WHIP in 18 appearances.

Cingrani is a fireballer. Throwing it a career high 93.1 percent of the time, his four-seam fastball averages in the mid-nineties. However, with that powerful arm, his strikeout numbers leave a bit to be desired. Averaging 9.25 strikeouts per nine innings in his career, Cingrani has 16 strikeouts in 16.2 innings of work this season. It does make him hard to hit though. Opposing hitters only have a .213 batting average against him this season.

Another thing that may peak the Astros interest is his late-inning experience. Last season, as the closer for the Reds, he converted 17 saves in 23 opportunities, posting a 4.14 ERA in 65 games.

Next: Astros: Is Jose Quintana the impact arm the team desires?

With a resurgent back end to the Reds bullpen with names like Raisel Iglesias, Michael Lorenzen, and Drew Storen, Cingrani may be on his way out. Even if the Reds want one or two lower level prospects for him, it would be worth it. Cingrani has the stuff, not only to solidify the Astros bullpen but also to be a difference maker in October.

***Stats provided by Fan Graphs and MLB.com***

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