Let Dana cook: Latest high-profile Astros roster move reeks of desperation

Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown entered the 2024 season on the hot seat, so it should come as no surprise he's doing everything in his power to save what's been a disappointing campaign so far.

Houston's streak of making seven consecutive ALCS appearances is in jeopardy, as they sit nine games behind the Seattle Mariners in the AL West and six games under .500. Injuries to Justin Verlander, Cristian Javier, Jose Urquidy, Lance McCullers Jr., Luis Garcia and more have had a major impact on the Astros slow start. Nonetheless, it's late June. Houston needs to turn things around or sell off some expiring assets while they still can.

Brown has been blunt about the Astros deadline plans. There is no scenario where they sell.

“I’ve seen teams blow leads from five games up to seven games up in September. In Atlanta when we won the World Series, we didn’t get to .500 until game 100,” Brown said, per The Athletic ($). “I don’t foresee us being sellers at all. We’re going to grind it out. I think we’re going to get back to .500 before people know it and we’ll be back in the race.”

Dana Brown proves confidence in Astros with latest roster move

The Astros are promoting pitching prospect Jake Bloss to make his debut on Friday against the Baltimore Orioles. Bloss has not pitched above Double-A, so facing one of the best lineups in baseball from the jump will not be an easy task.

Bloss was a third-round pick in last year's MLB Draft, and has been fast-tracked to the bigs. In his last Double-A start, Bloss tossed over six no-hit innings. He has a 1.61 ERA in eight starts in Double-A.

There is risk with calling Bloss up right now. As we've seen this season, the difference between Double-A and Triple-A hitters and MLB hitters is immense. If pitchers aren't ready, it can set them back years and impact their workload. Brown isn't afraid of that risk.

“I’ve got my eyes on him,” Brown said, via The Athletic. “I’m not afraid to move guys fast. He’s proving to us he can throw strikes, he’s got power stuff and he can log innings. If he continues to progress, you never know. Our rotation has been beaten up a bit. I’ve been paying a lot of attention to Bloss.”

The Astros are used to competing at the highest level. There is no time to wait, especially as they near the end of their competitive window. Some call it desperation, others consider it survival.