Astros Rumor: Houston showing interest in LH starter Robbie Ray

The Houston Astros are rumored to be revisiting the possibility of acquiring Arizona Diamondback’s left-handed starting pitcher Robbie Ray.

This isn’t the first time Robbie Ray has been in the cross-hairs of the Astros. Houston, along with Philadelphia, was one of the teams expressing interest in him this past offseason. Interestingly enough, the Astros and the Phillies are again the same two teams connected to Ray in recent rumors.

With the latest news about Brad Peacock having a setback in his rehab, the Astros situation with their shrinking starting rotation has become a dire one. Peacock was scheduled to be activated and start tonight’s game against the Angels. After feeling soreness in his right shoulder, that has been delayed indefinitely. He’s supposed to be evaluated by team doctors today.

Josh James is scheduled to be the “Opener” in tonight’s game with Framber Valdez coming in behind him. Tuesday night’s game is rumored to be a bullpen-by-committee affair. As we have discussed before, the Astros’ relievers have been overtaxed as of late.

Hence, the front office is rumored to be interested in several starters to reinforce the rotation. According to Jon Morosi of MLB.com, Robbie Ray is one of those pitchers.

The Diamondbacks are on the cusp of becoming sellers prior to the trade deadline. Although Arizona is sitting in second place behind the Dodgers, they have an insurmountable 14.5 game deficit to overcome. They are still in contention for a Wild Card spot at 1.5 games back, but they are in a battle with six other teams, at the very least.

Ray has been a workhorse this season starting a league-leading 20 games and has 111 innings under his belt. He’s carrying a 3.81 ERA and an ERA+ of 117. Ray is second in the National League in both strikeouts with 145 and with an 11.57 SO/9IP ratio. The 27-year-old is just two years from his 2017 All-Star season when he hauled in 15 wins.

Jon Morosi had a hypothetical trade between the two teams with Houston giving up Derek Fisher, Forrest Whitley, and J.B. Bukauskas for Ray. I don’t think Morosi had enough coffee when he thought this one out, or maybe too much. Either way, I can’t see the Astros handing over a list of top prospects that high. But who knows, maybe something can be worked out.