Astros rumors: Former trade acquisition drawing interest from Yankees and Cubs

Former Houston Astros reliever, Brooks Raley, is the latest reliever drawing interest. Raley looks like the next reliever domino to fall after Jeff Hoffman (three-year deal with Toronto), Caleb Ferguson (one-year deal with Pittsburgh), and Andrew Kittredge (one-year deal with Baltimore) all signed deals within the last week.

Seeing Raley pop up in rumors isn't surprising. The lefty spent a year and a half with Houston and was a solid reliever for the Astros. During his two years in Houston, he would throw 65 innings with a 4.57 ERA and 11.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9. He has elite strikeout stuff but just seemed to get hit hard, often times a poorly timed home run.

Raley would enter free agency and, due to his elite strikeout ability, he was able to get a two-year deal worth $10 million from the Tampa Bay Rays. Though he would only spend one year there, his time in Tampa would result in him becoming one of the better left-handed relievers in the game. His 2022 season saw him throw 53.2 innings (a career high at that time) with a 2.68 ERA and 10.2 K/9. He was then traded to the Mets for a prospect and put together another really good 2023 season (54.2 IP, 2.80 ERA, 10 K/9). Unfortunately, Raley would experience a strained UCL in 2024 (ultimately resulting in Tommy John surgery), only throwing seven innings before hitting free agency.

Yankees and Cubs showing interest in former Astros pitcher, Brooks Raley

Though there may be questions about his arm after the surgery, he could still prove to be a valuable arm come this summer. The Yankees are a team that have inquired about the lefty in their search for some added bullpen depth. Raley would fit in well in New York, giving the Yankees a solid lefty to match up against division rivals like Rafael Devers, Jarren Duran, Gunnar Henderson, and Colton Cowser.

The Chicago Cubs are another team that has expressed interest in Raley's services. The Cubs, who originally drafted Raley in 2009, could look to make an under the radar, but aggressive, "go for it" type of move. They have pushed their chips in on the 2025 season after the Kyle Tucker trade and the Matthew Boyd, Colin Rea signings.

Raley has been a great pitcher the last few years and is a great story. After just 38.1 major league innings, he headed to the KBO before returning to the big leagues a completely different pitcher. While he will miss at least part of the 2025 season, any team getting Raley will be getting a really good pitcher and a tough matchup to aid their bullpen.