MLB rumors: 5 teams who should trade for Robbie Ray

2. Houston Astros

Houston’s rotation is anchored very well by Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander, and Wade Miley has been pretty good (3.32 ERA over 19 starts). Brad Peacock has been solid too, but he has suffered a setback in his ailing throwing shoulder and seems set to miss another couple weeks at this point. The back end of the rotation has become a bit of pieced-together uncertainty for a team with legit World Series-winning aspirations.

According to Jon Morosi of MLB.com, the Astros have shown recent interest in Ray. With Cole heading for free agency after the season, being able to get someone who’s not just a rental (like Madison Bumgarner and Zack Wheeler, as two examples) stands to also be a strong consideration for Houston.

The hard-throwing Ray fits the general profile the Astros favor in pitchers and they managed to push both Cole and Verlander to a different level of performance upon acquiring them. If they see something that can be tweaked to curb his control issues, the Astros could unlock a new level for Ray by bringing him into their system. Throwing more traditional curveballs stands out (13.4 percent this season), since his slider is simply not a better pitch and he’s throwing that over 34 percent of the time so far this year.