Astros Rumors: Is Lance Lynn the latest trade target

Could the Astros land Lance Lynn?

The Houston Astros lost last night, but Collin McHugh looked improved in his second start of the season. While I’m in Cooperstown celebrating Jeff Bagwell‘s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, Jeff Luhnow is working on improving the team.

The trade deadline is Monday and the Astros are in a similar position to the 2015 Chicago Cubs. They have a big lead in their division, 17 games up.  This team is good enough to have a 68-35 record doesn’t need too much.

Unfortunately for the Astros, the trade deadline falls at a time where injuries have caused issues. McHugh and Dallas Keuchel have returned and are working to stretch out. But they are missing two big bats in Carlos Correa and George Springer.

Luckily, they have the depth to withstand the injuries with Marwin Gonzalez and Derek Fisher. If you believe the rumors, the Astros are after one more pitcher for the playoffs and lefty reliever.

After a pitcher?

There are still rumors out there that they are after Yu Darvish. Jon Heyman believes that the Astros are one of three favorites for Darvish next to the Yankees and Dodgers. Heyman says the Rangers are not concerned trading within the state.

The one problem is that Darvish is a rental pitcher. He’s the best one out there, but the Astros prefer a pitcher with more team control. Which is surprising why another name came up last night.

Lynn’ding a hand?

Jon Morosi Tweeted that the team has shown interests in Cardinals starter Lance Lynn. At first thought, these two teams have a bad history with the hacking scandal. Morosi points out that this should not prevent the Astros from trading for Lynn.

Once again, Lynn is a free agent after the season. He may not be the top pitcher the Astros are looking for, he’s been very consistent over the last few years. In his six-year MLB career, Lynn has a career 3.35 ERA. His highest ERA was 3.97 with a career high 198 strikeouts in 2013 as he won 15 games.

Lynn has won 12 or more games every year except his rookie season. This year, he is 8-6 with 107 strikeouts in 120 2/3 innings pitched. The one red flag on Lynn’s season could be his career high 4.83 FIP. This could be from his increased homer rate of 1.6 per nine innings pitched.

Playoffs

What about the key factor the Astros are looking for? How has he preformed in the playoffs? Let’s start off with the fact that he was a reliever on the 2011 World Series winning Cardinals. He did pitch in three WS games that year.

In 24 playoff games, he has a 4.50 career ERA with 50 strikeouts in 52 innings. He only started seven of those games. Would he be an upgrade for the regular season? Yes, but they will win without him. Would he be an upgrade for the playoffs? History shows that he is not lights out.

The price might be high for Lynn, probably Derek Fisher and a few other prospects. Is this something that Luhnow is really considering like Morosi suggests? Possibly, but will they give up the prospects needed.

Next: Astros Mock Trade: Justin Wilson comes to Houston

At least the Cardinals know the Astros farm system really well, they can pick and choose. Yes, that was a joke. If the two GMs can work out a deal, Lynn would be good for the right price.

***Stats from Baseball-Reference***