Astros: 4 relievers *not named Craig Kimbrel* to trade for

Kendall Graveman

The 30-year-old right hander has been terrific in 2021, two years removed from his 2019 Tommy John surgery. Kendall Graveman is posting a 0.82 ERA and a 0.69 WHIP in 33 innings so far this year as the Mariners’ primary eighth-and-ninth inning option. Graveman is posting a career-high in strikeouts per nine (9.3) and a career-low in both walks per nine (2.3) and hits per nine (4.1).

Gravemen has been straight-up filthy this year. His primary pitch – sinker (60% usage) – hangs in the mid-90s MPH and is generating a .111 opponent batting average. His knockout pitch – the slider – is generating a 45% whiff rate. He has been destroying righty-hitters (.079 BA, .214 OPS) and has only allowed 4 extra base hits all season. No one on Houston’s team (except for perhaps Ryan Pressly) has stats anywhere near this dominant throughout the season. Plugging Graveman into those high-leverage innings with a lead would be a dream for Houston.

However, since Seattle has played so well recently, they may no longer be sellers at the deadline. The Mariners have been the best team in baseball over the last 30 days and appear to be inching closer and closer to Oakland for one of the wild-card spots.  And even if they do decide to be sellers, it’s also hard to imagine Seattle giving Graveman to a division rival, but hey stranger things have happened.

Chad Green

Okay, Astro fans. Before you roll your eyes, hear me out (or read me out):  just because he plays for the New York Yankees, doesn’t mean Chad Green isn’t a really-good reliever. And just because our last memory of him is him giving up a walk-off home run to MVP Jose Altuve, doesn’t mean Green isn’t having himself a pretty good 2021 season.

Green has been one of the more solid pieces of the Yankees bullpen that have been porous all season. The right hander it’s posting a 3.06 ERA with a 0.83 WHIP in his 50+ innings of work so far this year. Green is a veteran reliever with control – he’s generating a career-low walks per nine innings (1.8), which is something the Astros desperately need. Green is also still averaging over 10.8 strikeouts per nine – also something the Astros desperately need.

Green is almost an exclusive fastball-and-curve pitcher, both of which are very effective pitches. Green’s fastball generates a .187 opponent batting average and a 31% whiff rate this season. His curveball generates a .184 opponent batting average with a 35% whiff rate this season. If you ignore those obnoxious pinstripes on his uniform, you’ll see Chad Green is a really really good option.

Herein lies the question: Will the Yankees be sellers at the deadline?  New York is almost ten games out of first and trending the wrong way – perhaps they’ll feel the need to switch up their roster and someone like Green could become available.

Whether or not the Yankees would be willing to deal with the Astros is a different story, but I imagine New York would do a trade for their right offer. And in that case Houston would then have a really solid bullpen option that gets a ton of outs in Green.

Richard Rodriguez

There have not been a lot of good things going on for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season, but one of their few good things has been the player Richard Rodriguez.

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The right-hander is posting a 2.82 ERA with a 0.83 whip in 38 innings in the role as Pittsburgh’s primary closer. Rodriguez likes to beat batters with his heater – he throws his fastball almost 85% of the time, which hangs in the mid-90s and generates a ton of movement.

Rodriguez certainly checks all the boxes for what Houston needs at the deadline – he doesn’t give up a ton of walks (1.1 per nine), he doesn’t give up a ton of hits (6.2 per nine) and he has a high spin rate on both his fastball and slider.

It seems like tradition that the Pirates are deadline sellers giving away their best talent, and that appears to be the case once again this season. Pittsburgh is already traded Adam Frazier to the Padres and look to be getting loads of interest for both Rodriguez and Brian Reynolds.

Houston has had  luck trading with Pittsburgh before (We miss you, Gerrit Cole) so perhaps there can be some mirrored success with another trade for a Pittsburgh pitcher. If Pittsburgh isn’t willing to move their closer, Houston could explore their other bullpen guys like Chris Stratton or David Bednar in a trade.

Raisel Iglesias

If the Astros are looking for power pitchers and they can’t get Craig Kimbrel, Raisel Iglesias might be the next best option.

The 31-year-old right hander is an aggressive pitcher anchored around his upper 90 MPH 4-seam fastball. Iglesias is only posting a 3.34 ERA with the Angels this season, but he’s still generating tons of strikeouts (13.8 per nine) and not giving up a ton of baserunners (0.89 WHIP) in his 45 innings pitched thus far.

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There is a ton to like about Iglesias when you dig into his advanced stats. He’s in the top 2% in the entire league in K rate (40%) and top 5% in the league in expected batting average (.181 BA). Iglesias is a swing-and-miss expert – all four of his pitches generate a whiff rate over 30%, with his slider getting a deGrom-esque 51% Whiff rate.

He has a balanced blend of fastball (33% usage), slider (30%), changeup (28%) and sinker (8%) – This type of skillset with Brent Strom’s guidance ought to make Houston fans excited for this potential acquisition.

So what’s the knock on him? He gives up bombs – nine so far this season. His 5% HR rate is well above league average and seeing him pitch for Houston in a short park like Minute Maid would make a fan like myself a little squeamish.

But Iglesias has the same type of velocity like Ken Giles and Roberto Osuna with – judging by his advanced metrics- a higher ceiling than those guys with his skillset. With the Angels fading in the AL West, they look to be sellers at the deadline who’ll try to replenish more talent for their deficient farm system.

Houston could help their cause in return for the hard-throwing Iglesias, who seems to be in the prime of his career. A Pedro Baez/Rasiel Iglesias/Ryan Pressly three-headed bullpen monster would be quite imposing come playoffs.

Other Options:

Ian Kennedy, Daniel Bard, Daniel Hudson, Richard Bleier and John Curtiss