3 pitchers the Houston Astros should focus their trade deadline efforts on

Eduardo Rodriguez - Tigers

The Astros could partner with the Detroit Tigers again at the trade deadline and for another starting pitcher.  Eduardo Rodriguez would be a great fit for the Houston Astros rotation at the deadline as he is under contract through 2026, but with the caveat of having an opt out of the final 3 years.  

I could easily see Rodriguez not opting out if he is on a contender like the Houston Astros, and Dana Brown has commented he wants to trade for players with longer team control.   This could be their guy.  Since both Jose Altuve and Luis Garcia were on the same team as Rodriguez on the world baseball classic, that could lure him even more to the Astros squad and make him willing to stay.

Rodriguez is having a career year with a 2.69 ERA over 14 starts with a 0.986 WHIP.  These numbers far exceed his career averages of 4.03 ERA and 1.287 WHIP but, that could be just what the Astros need.   His numbers for both walks per nine and home runs per nine innings are down and his trike outs per nine innings is up above last year and his career average.  Most impressive for Rodriguez is his batting average against which lines up with the best pitchers available at .207 and his hard hit percentage and exit velocity are also down from the prior year.  

As is often the case, championship teams need players who are hot at the right time and play well for the playoffs, and he has only 4 career starts but he has not pitched as well those seasons as he is right now in 2023.  This could very well be the next big pitching move for the Astros, and I love the potential.