The Houston Astros will likely need a starter or two at the trade deadline if they want to be the team they aspire to be in the postseason.
The Astros are currently in first place in the American League West, but it isn’t a guarantee that they’ll win the division, either.
The Astros have a long way to go, and with all the injuries they’ve faced on the mound, it’s only a matter of time before things get more difficult.
When looking at options they could pursue on the market, Dalton Rise of Sports Illustrated recently proposed the idea of the Astros trading for Walker Buehler of the Boston Red Sox.
There are some issues with that for a few different reasons, but on the surface, adding Buehler would be a wise decision due to what he’s done throughout his career.
“After recording the final out of the 2024 World Series, Buehler took the time to recover from his second Tommy John surgery and landed with the Red Sox at the end of December. Through 11 starts, the 2015 first-round pick has a 5.01 ERA and a 5-4 record. Similar to Giolito, his starts have been very up-and-down with two of his five starts since returning from injury at the end of May have lasted less than three innings.
“Houston could very much be in the market to add pitching after missing Spencer Arrighetti, Ronel Blanco, J.P France, Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier, and Hayden Wesneski from the Major League pitching staff,” he wrote.
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Now, it’s also important to note that Buehler was a member of those Los Angeles Dodgers teams that didn’t love the Astros due to the cheating scandal situation.
Buehler has also dealt with multiple injuries and has a 5.01 ERA for the Red Sox.
He’s far from what he once was, so this would be a risky move from the Astros’ perspective.
