3 Astros who don’t deserve to be on the roster past the trade deadline

3) Astros roster shouldn’t include Jake Odorizzi after the trade deadline but it will

Let’s get a little creative with the Astros at the trade deadline. Jake Odorizzi has been one of their least effective starting pitchers this year. There is definitely a case to keep him around in some capacity. You can never have enough starting pitching depth. But when compared to what everyone from Justin Verlander down has done, Odorizzi is easily the most expendable.

Here’s the issue: he has no minor league options. If the Astros are going to add any starting pitching to their big league roster, they’re going to have to send down one of the guys outperforming Odorizzi this season.

What if, instead, Houston trades Odorizzi to a starting pitcher-needy club?

It’s outlandish. A little foolish. And things can change in a nanosecond between now and August 2 when all trade deadline decisions must be finalized. When looking at what the other starters have given the Astros and even including the relievers in there, it’s easy to see Odorizzi is the weakest link.

Odorizzi would actually fetch the Astros a decent return, too. Given how light the market is for starting pitchers this summer with Luis Castillo and Frankie Montas headlining and a whole lot of nothing behind them, it might not be so nuts. At 4-3 with a 4.25 ERA in 11 starts this year, he’s far more desirable than so many other starting pitchers out there.

Will it happen? Probably not. But when looking at everyone else on the roster, he would be the one of the players least deserving to stick around.