Astros: Pitchers that would fit like a glove in Houston

The Winter Meetings are in full swing and the rumors are rampant. Will the Astros reel in one of the highly coveted pitchers, there for the taking?

The priorities of the Astros‘ GM, Jeff Luhnow, are no secret, a quality starting pitcher, bullpen help and offensive support for the lineup. Depending on what they’re able to attain to strengthen the starting rotation, will determine how much bullpen help they’ll need. Also, the amount they spend on a pitcher will inversely affect how big of a bat they can acquire. It’s quite the balancing act.

With that being said, it is reported owner Jim Crane may be open to digging deeper into his pocket this year to fill Luhnow’s wishes. The Astros’ payroll at the onset of the 2018 season was $182 million. Crane may be willing to raise that closer to the $200 million point. The limit for the 2019 season, before reaching the luxury-tax threshold, is $206 million and Crane seems willing to get near that mark to accomplish their goals.

“I’d say if the right situation came along — certainly we’re not going over [the luxury-tax threshold] — but we could move closer to that,” Crane said. “We were pretty high up in the food chain last year. A lot of teams realize the penalty is pretty severe if you go over. We’ll stay within the strike zone.” via Brian McTaggart and MLB.com

A few of the big-name pitchers have already been scooped up and time is of the essence. The Astros have been rumored to be involved with several teams regarding possible trade talks and also have shown interest in few of the pitchers on the free agent market. Several issues can influence their decision of which pitcher would fit their needs. Do they spend big to acquire the batter they’re seeking first? Do they re-sign Charlie Morton or Dallas Keuchel? What prospects are they willing to cede in a trade?

Taking all of this into consideration, let’s take a look at a few pitchers that would nicely fit the needs of the Houston Astros.

The Cleveland Indians are looking to trim their payroll without losing a competitive edge in their division. Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer are two names that continuously arise as candidates they’re willing to include in possible trade talks. Can you imagine Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Corey Kluber as your 1-2-3 pitchers in the rotation? But will the asking price be too steep?

The Indians will most likely want a few top prospects, along with an outfielder that could give them some immediate production. With the likely loss of Michael Brantley and Lonnie Chisenhall to free agency, they’ll have a major void to fill in the outfield.

The Astros have a talented pool of prospects and might have what the Indians are seeking. Assuming Kyle Tucker is off the table, Yorden Alvarez, ninth in the top ten outfield prospects of the MLB Pipeline, might be right up their alley. Houston also has Jake Marisnick and Tony Kemp as possible bargaining chips.

Kluber’s numbers and accolades speak for themselves. In 2018 the 32-year-old started 33 games and ended the season with a record of 20-7. He sported an ERA of 2.89 and struck out 222 batters in 215 innings of work. Kluber is a two-time Cy Young Award winner and came in third in the voting, right behind Justin Verlander, on this year’s ballot. He’s been selected to participate in the AL All-Star team the last three years.

Interestingly enough, Kluber is set to make $17.5 million in 2019 with a $1 million buy-out. That’s less than the $17.9 million qualifying offer Dallas Keuchel declined. His salary will increase to $18 million in 2020, the final year of his current contract before becoming a free agent. That sounds like a bargain for a pitcher of his caliber.

The Astros may have to give up some of their top prospects and possibly an outfielder on their current roster. But they have plenty of talent in their farm system and losing a few shouldn’t jeopardize Houston’s future. Plus, if Keuchel signs with another team, they’ll be awarded a 2019 draft pick after Competitive Balance Round B as compensation, to help ease the blow.

A couple of weeks ago, all the buzz consisted of talks around a Zack Greinke and Paul Goldschmidt package deal. Since then, Goldschmidt has been dealt to the St. Louis Cardinal, but Greinke is still available. To the dismay of many teams, Greinke has a no-trade clause with 15 teams on that list. Fortunately for Houston, the Astros aren’t one of those.

Greinke would come at a much higher cost than the previously mentioned pitchers. He is in the middle of a six-year contract that will garner him $31.5 million in 2019 and $32 million in each of the final two years. Maybe if the right deal was made, the Astros could get the Diamondbacks to eat some of that to ease the burden. That’s most likely not going to happen, but given what Jim Crane indicated, if the right situation came along, the Astros could up their team salary.

Greinke is one of the elite pitchers in baseball and has earned every right to that higher end contract. He is a five-time All-Star and Gold Glove Award winner. He has won fifteen or more games in all but one year of his last six seasons. Greinke has a career ERA of 3.39 and an ERA+ of 124, well above average. Even though he’s 35 years old, he has still been able to eclipse 200 innings pitched each of the last two seasons.

The Astros have been well-known for their use of analytics in their game strategy and Greinke would fit in well with this approach. Greinke has been acknowledged for years for his ability to adjust his pitching based on defensive statistics.

Anyone of these pitchers would be a big asset to Houston’s starting rotation, no matter which one they choose, if they choose one at all. But one thing is for sure, time is running out. As I’m writing this article, another pitcher has been snatched up by an opposing team.