Houston Astros: 1 trade to make, 1 trade to avoid

With the MLB trade deadline vastly approaching and the Houston Astros in postseason contention, here are moves they should and should not make.

Another year, another season where the Houston Astros are in the middle of the postseason picture. Just last season, the Astros were one win away from reaching the World Series for the third time in four years, but lost to the Tampa Bay Rays. This season, they sit in second place in the AL West standings with a 37-28 record, just two games behind the Oakland Athletics (40-27).

The 2021 trade deadline is over a month away, and that means teams are beginning to make their decision as to whether they should buy or sell. The Astros are obviously in a buy mode, so that means shortstop Carlos Correa will not be moved to another team. Houston needs to make a big move at the deadline if they want to stand above the rest, but can not afford to make a risky move.

Here is one player the Astros should trade for, and one they should avoid altogether.

1 trade to make: RHP Richard Rodriguez

If there is one thing that Astros fans know all too well, it is how much of a detriment the team’s bullpen truly is this season. According to Baseball Reference, the Astros have the fifth-most losses in relief with 15 and the sixth-most blown saves with 12. That is not ideal, especially for a team planning on hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy at season’s end.

The Astros have a closer in Ryan Pressly, who is their bright spot in the bullpen. While the Astros do not necessarily need to add a closer through the trading block, they can get one to convert into a setup option for Pressly. Perhaps the best option for Houston to acquire is Richard Rodriguez of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Rodriguez is showing promise on a Pirates team that continues to dig itself deeper in the NL Central standings. Pittsburgh’s closer does not have overpowering stuff that results in strikeouts, as evidenced by his 20 strikeouts in 25.1 innings of work. But perhaps the most important thing is that Rodriguez has accumulated a grand total of three walks this season. Do we have your attention now, Astros fans?

Overall, Rodriguez has a 1.78 ERA, 0.711 WHIP and seven saves to his credit through 24 appearances this season.

Perhaps the most enticing thing about Rodriguez is his contract. The reliever only carries a base salary of $1.7 million for this season and has two more years of arbitration remaining before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. If Houston wants to solve their bullpen issues, they should give the Pirates a call to see what it would take to get Rodriguez. Hey, the Astros and Pirates have done business before (i.e. the Gerrit Cole trade), why not again?