Houston Astros acquire right-hander Anthony Bass from San Diego Padres

The front office of the Houston Astros is quietly garnering quite a reputation as a forward-thinking group, and they may have struck again in raiding the San Diego Padres.

Houston won’t make any real national headlines by grabbing Anthony Bass from San Diego in exchange for a player to be named later or cash, but it’s exactly the kind of depth-adding, low-floor move that good front offices love. The 25-year-old Bass struggled mightily with the Padres in 2013, posting a 5.36 ERA in 42 big league innings, but the peripherals point to a bit of luck correction in his future, and Bass has nice “stuff”.

Bass debuted with a “bang” in 2011, putting up a 1.68 ERA over 48.1 innings, and while that was never going to be the type of dominant arm that he actually was, it likely raised expectations to unmanageable levels. With a fresh start in Houston (and almost zero pressure), the still-young Bass could thrive in a variety of roles, including a fringe member of a rotation or as a long man in the bullpen, using his plus-fastball to its fullest extent.

The Astros have made bigger splashes in the recent past, but grabbing MLB-quality arms for nothing is always a good practice.