Houston Astros Rumors: Team interested in lefty reliever Zach Britton

The Houston Astros are now officially in the 2nd half of the season and as they inch toward the trade deadline, there are many options that they can undertake to fine-tune their roster.

Yes, the Houston Astros are on the football equivalent of being on the 10-yard line to punch it in for a touchdown to get the arm they need to put us over the top. It’s no secret that the team is looking for a qualified arm to solidify the pitching rotation that’s already in place. We’re quite deep in other areas of the team but this is an area where the team needs some help in.

Although the focus has been getting close to a top-tier starter for this team, it’s not surprising that they’d want to seek additional bullpen help, considering that Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh are close to returning back from their respective injuries. It could be any week now and that will mean we’ll have a full rotation back to do battle with our opponents.

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One name that frequently has been tossed around is for left-handed reliever Zach Britton, particularly by MLB insider Jon Heyman. Although the Baltimore Orioles have not put him up for sale though, it remains to be seen if he’ll be available. The Orioles are only four games out of the AL Wild Card so it’s tough to gauge if they’ll be sellers at the deadline. But I’m sure if the Houston Astros raised a eyebrow-raising offer, I’m positive the Orioles would listen to such a notion.

Britton just returned from the 60-day DL after suffering from a forearm injury that many considered devastating for his career. He’s still considered one of the more talented closing pitchers in the business and I would perceive this as a minor setback and he’ll be fine.

Per Brooks Baseball, he has a nice sinker that sits at about 96 mph with a curve and slider that he uses from time to time. He’s certainly not known for his fastball but if batters can’t swing at his best pitch — which that has certainly been the case as of late — then that may be all that matters.

I’d deal Teoscar Hernandez, Franklin Perez and possibly Tony Kemp to make a deal like this happen. We shouldn’t have to deal as much as opposed to if we’re trying to deal for Gerrit Cole or Sonny Gray but I think this is a fair price to pay for a pitcher that’s coming off a forearm injury.

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The trade deadline is July 31 at 3 p.m. CDT so it’ll be interesting to see what happens. I honestly can’t wait.

Britton, 29, has posted a 2.08 ERA, nine strikeouts, five saves, an excellent 2.92 FIP and 1.692 WHIP through 13.0 innings pitched so far in 2017.

Go Astros.

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