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.

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.

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