Astros: A trade idea that solves the Ken Giles situation

The framework of the trade.

At this point, the Astros are quite aware that they need to trade for bullpen help. Don’t forget that Lance McCullers will most likely move to the bullpen. While Astros fans may want him to be the closer, I see him as a long-reliever. Collin McHugh has earned a more high-leverage role in the bullpen. Forrest Whitley could be an Adam Wainwright option in the bullpen should the need arise. Giles could be a distraction down the road in the Astros bullpen, let’s devise a trade.

The Astros will most likely refuse any trade offers asking for the top-3 prospects in the Astros system. According to MLB Pipeline, those are Kyle Tucker, Whitley, and Yordan Alvarez. If the Astros want to acquire a top closer, the will have to sacrifice some prospects. They could control the level of the prospects though.

But they may have to give up an MLB ready player.

For the sake of this article, I will focus on one team because they are closer to competing in the near future than some of the others. Not the Athletics, that team is the Reds. They have something the Astros want, a proven closer in Raisel Iglesias. The Astros have been reportedly interested in Iglesias, so he would make sense.

Iglesias is under team control until the 2021 season, so they wouldn’t be trading for a rental. He has 19 saves this year with a 2.41 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 41 innings pitched. Iglesias has been a dominating pitcher, with a career 3.03 ERA, skewed with his 4.15 ERA in his rookie season in 2015. All stats and contract info from Baseball-Reference. Let’s make a trade.

Continue below.