The Houston Astros are playing good baseball at the moment. They have won four consecutive games and are just a half-game back of the Seattle Mariners in the American League West.
They are also tied with the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians in the Wild Card race.
However, they have a few issues that are bagging them down, even though they’re five games above the .500 mark.
They have several starters out, and with Ronel Blanco done for the season, Kyle Morton of Sports Illustrated listed Baltimore Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer as a trade option.
“Baltimore’s season is going nowhere in a hurry, and with pitchers like Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells possibly returning to the pitching staff later in the year, there may not be a spot for Kremer much longer anyway,” Morton wrote.
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Kremer has not performed well with the Orioles this season. He is 4-5 with a 5.02 ERA in 11 starts and 61 innings of work.
However, he is only 29 years old and can be used in multiple roles. He also is not a free agent again until the 2028 season, so he has a few years of club control remaining.
The Astros don’t have a lot of depth options at the moment, and Kremer could easily plug a hole for them down the stretch.
With Baltimore out of contention, Kremer makes sense as a trade candidate as they try to retool for 2026, but he can fill a hole for Houston and give them a little bit more depth for the rest of the year.
It will be interesting to see what happens at the trade deadline.
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