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

The MLB trade deadline is coming up on Friday, and there should be plenty of movement from teams looking to upgrade their bullpen. And for the Houston Astros, they will likely be one of those active teams.

The Astros are coming off a horrendous Monday night loss where they surrendered a seven-run lead to the red-hot division rival Seattle Mariners. This current Astros team has just about everything you’d want- an amazing offense, a deep rotation and an All-Star closer that is dependable.

But Houston’s clear and present Achilles’ heel – the bullpen – continues to have moments of complete collapse, as it did during the later innings of Monday night’s game. I suspect that last night’s implosion reminded the front office that some significant changes might be needed this week.

If Houston is serious about winning another title in this championship window, the bullpen must be better once the deadline hits on Friday.

The trade piece that has been floating out there for the last month has been Chicago Cubs closer Craig Kimbrel. The Eight-Time All-Star and future hall-of-famer has over 350 saves to his name and is posting an absurd 0.49 ERA this season.

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Without a doubt, the acquisition of Craig Kimbrel would make the Houston Astros seemingly unstoppable.  With perhaps the best two relievers in the game (Kimbrel, Pressly) able to pitch the last two innings would give Houston a significant advantage over their playoff opponents.

But there’s a high likelihood other teams are in need for Kimbrel’s services at the deadline and could offer Chicago more than Houston may be willing to give. If that happens to be case, there shouldn’t be despair among Astro fans as there is still plenty of reliever options that Houston can (and must) explore.

Acquiring Craig Kimbrel is the golden idol for bullpen arms this deadline, and hopefully Houston can steal him like Indiana Jones. However, there will be adequate consolation prizes out there for Houston to try and get if Kimbrel slips through their fingers. Let’s take a look at some potential relievers out there (not named Kimbrel) that could significantly boost the bullpen.

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.

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