Astros: best trade options out of the NL East

The trade deadline will be here on Friday, and the Houston Astros are once again in the position to make upgrades to their current roster. With Tampa Bay acquiring Nelson Cruz and teams like Chicago (AL), Boston and Oakland likely also making deadline moves, Houston will need to be active and find ways to better themselves for the grueling second-half push.

As of Friday, general manager James Click opened up to beat reporters about the pursuit of high-leverage arms, and how the team is not counting on a return from Justin Verlander. After a strong performance all around on Friday against the Texas Rangers, the Astros still look in need of a few assets.

The Astros will obviously consider every team as a potential trade option, but I think one division might provide the Astros with the best trade piece options – the NL East. The New York Mets currently sit on top of the standings in the NL East, a division full of teams that have either disappointed or been riddled with injuries.

The NL East looks to be up for grabs, but who is available to be traded this week?

With no other team in striking distance of the wild card, it seems likely that some teams in that division will wave the white flag and become sellers on July 30th.  Hopefully one of these NL East teams can wind up cutting a deal with Houston.

Assuming the Mets hold onto the division, let’s take a look at the best trade options from the other four teams in the NL East.

Miami Marlins

Starling Marte

With contract extension talks halted, it seems more likely that the Marlins will try to trade center fielder Starling Marte. The 32-year-old All Star and Gold Glove winner appears motivated to find a new contract in a new home – and perhaps the Astros could be that ideal suitor for Marte.

Marte is currently hitting .289 with 7 home runs, 23 RBIs, 19 stolen bases and with an OPS of .833. He hits, he gets on base, he steals, he defends and he does everything you’d want out of a center fielder. While Myles Straw has been terrific this season and has proven himself to be a starting-caliber player, acquiring Marte would be a notable upgrade at center fielder.

There appears to be a lot of teams inquiring about Marte (Yankees and Phillies) which might drive the asking price up higher than the Astros would like. I also think the Astros have been impressed with Straw and aren’t trying to move him.

John Curtiss

Although the right-hander just signed a new contract this past offseason, Curtiss might be one of Miami’s best trade chips if they are trying to acquire prospects. Curtiss currently has a 2.75 ERA with a WHIP of 1.18 in 36 innings this year – nothing too impressive.

However, Curtiss is only one year removed from his season with the Tampa Bay Rays where he posted a 0.96 WHIP, 1.79 ERA and was a key part of the bullpen that carried the Tampa Bay Rays to the World Series last year.

The 28-year-old has a terrific fastball-slider combination, with his fastball sometimes touching the upper 95 MPH range. The thought of Curtiss coming in the seventh inning to pitch for Houston, followed by Pedro Baez (hopefully) and Ryan Presley does bring a smile to my face.

Richard Bleier

Bleier has been a very good pitcher on a ton of bad teams for most of his career – I’d be interested to see what he would do on a good team.

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The lefty primarily uses his sinker pitch which generates low contact, supported by a nifty little cutter pitch that he uses from time to time. Bleier is currently posting a 3.00 ERA with a low WHIP of 0.84 for Miami. Bleier’s play also seems to be trending up – in the month of July (excluding one bad game against Washington) he has given up 0 earned runs over 10 innings and has an opponent batting average of .140

The most appealing thing about Bleier would be his control. He doesn’t give up home runs (career 1.7% HR rate) and he doesn’t walk batters (1.9% walk rate). This would be a welcome addition to an Astro bullpen that gives up some big bombs and clusters of walks from time to time.

Bleier is 34 years old and likely not part of Miami’s long-term plans, which means Houston may be able to acquire him on the cheap end. When you have an offense as good as Houston does, you need bullpen arms that keeps the bases empty and don’t give up big mistakes – Bleier fits that model.

Washington Nationals

Max Scherzer

Ah – the pie in the sky trade option. Plugging Scherzer in with Greinke, McCullers, Valdez and Odorizzi/Garcia would make this Houston Astros team unstoppable.

Although Scherzer is in his late 30s, he’s showing no signs of slowing down. He’s 7-4 with a 2.83 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP – just flat-out dominant. The right-hander is still posting a 35% strikeout rate, while his walk rate is well under 6%, and his opponent batting average is .175. Now, before us Astros fans get carried away fantasizing about this – can this trade actually happen?

The Nationals have made no indication on being sellers at the deadline, especially with they way their offense has been playing as of late. In addition, Scherzer has a no-trade clause in the final year of his contract, that he has indicated he’d only waive if he could get a guaranteed extension. Houston would have to be comfortable paying premium starter money to a guy in his late 30s.

But – if the Astros are in win-now mode, this move would be massive step towards that goal. This trade would not only make Houston the World Series favorite for this year, it would elongate Houston’s championship window even more.

Daniel Hudson

Okay, okay. Let’s assume Scherzer is way too expensive (no need to assume – he’d be very expensive). Houston can make a smaller-but-impactful trade for another Nats hurler: Daniel Hudson.

Hudson has posted a 2.54 ERA with a 0.90 WHIP and 13.1 strikeout per nine rate in his 30 innings this season. He’s been looking good both of those placements as velocity and could be an ideal set-up man for Ryan Pressly in the postseason.

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What Hudson also brings to the bullpen is poise and experience. This is a guy who’s a 14-year vet and a World Champion who can certainly be relied on in key moments in the postseason. You can never get enough guys like that on your team.

Yan Gomes

I covered this trade idea on a recent trend piece, but it bears repeating. The Astros love having both Martin Maldonado and Jason Castro but adding Yan Gomes wouldn’t be such a bad idea. The 33-year-old catcher is a former Silver Slugger and All Star with a terrific track record of performance in the postseason.

The Astros has struggled with consistent production in the lower part of their lineup – something that would be resolved immediately with Gomes.  Any time there is an opportunity to get a catcher who hits .270 to hit 9th in the batting order in front of Altuve, Brantley and Gurriel might be worth exploring.

Atlanta Braves

Will Smith

Will Smith has disappointed since signing his big contract with the Braves two years ago. But the lefty is still a former All Star with incredible skillset that you can’t find everyday. Smith has a mid-90s fastball that attacks the zone and his slider ranks among the best pitches in the game (career .143 opponent BA with a 47% Whiff rate!).

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Smith still has a high strikeout per nine rate (13.1) and doesn’t give up many home runs – always a need when your team plays in a hitter-friendly ballpark like Minute Maid. With the Braves season taking a turn for the worse, perhaps Atlanta considers retooling their roster and moving Smith in return for future prospects  And a change of scenery might be what the talented Mr. Smith might need the most.

Charlie Morton

I mean … duh. I don’t need to spit off stats about Charlie Morton – Chuck’s one of the best in the game and is one of the best dudes ever. And he belongs back in an Astros uniform.

How awesome would it be if the Astros had Charlie Morton come in the seventh inning of game seven of the 2021 World Series and finish the game, all culminating in a soft ground ball hit the Jose Altuve for the final out? Astros are World Series Champs 2: The Sequel?

Come on, James Click – let’s make this happen!

The Astros are back on the field on Saturday at 6:10 p.m. with Framber Valdez countering right-hander Kyle Gibson. With the anticipation of Aledmys Diaz returning for the upcoming road trip, Alex Bregman is to have more news on his health tomorrow, while Josh James and Brooks Raley threw to hitters before the game on Friday.