Houston Astros: The deal that will land Raisel Iglesias

The Houston Astros are having a pretty great season so far. However, if there is one spot the team can improve, it is an impact, late-inning reliever. Let’s take a look at one of the team’s best options, Raisel Iglesias.

You may not know this but, hopefully, you do, the Houston Astros won the 2017 World Series! Jeff Luhnow and company assembled a squad that was perfect to topple the Los Angeles Dodgers. Even better, the vast majority of the team was coming back to help keep the repeat hopes alive.

Luhnow wasn’t satisfied and sought to keep improving the team. So, he went out and added Gerrit Cole to an already superb staff. A staff that would already be improved by a full season of Justin Verlander. There would also be natural improvements from the army of young players on the rest of the roster.

So far, the repeat hopes are alive and well. The Houston Astros are atop the AL West, albeit by only a game and a half. Additionally, the team also has the third best record in all of baseball which, coincidentally, is behind only the Red Sox and the Yankees.

However, there has been a pretty big difference between the 2017 campaign and the 2018 campaign. The 2017 campaign was led purely by the bats and a solid lineup. While the 2018 Astros lead the league in run differential by a huge margin, this season has been led more by the pitching staff.

But, the even though the bullpen has been much better in recent weeks, there is room for improvement there. The biggest area of need in the bullpen is a tried and true, impact, late-inning arm. The Astros currently ranked 9th in blown saves in the MLB, 5th highest. Ironically, the fan-favorite to hate on, Ken Giles, owns zero of the ten blown saves the team has. Regardless, the need is definitely there.

Enter Raisel Iglesias

Raisel Iglesias has been an incredibly solid presence at the backend of the Cincinnati Reds bullpen for about two years now. His first year+ in the majors were spent as a starter. He was solid, yet, unspectacular for a top prospect. He posted uninspiring numbers as a starter, thus, in 2016 he began his shift to the bullpen. Iglesias began taking over the closer role by the end of 2016 and never looked back.

The 28-year-old out of Cuba has some electric stuff. In fact, his arsenal is very similar to that of Giles. A burner of a fastball, a slider that’ll make a batter jump but, Iglesias also has an underrated changeup. All three of his pitches are grading positively this year.

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Currently, Iglesias has 16 saves to his name to pair with a 2.63 ERA, 1.035 WHIP (best of his career), and 10.0 strikeouts per 9 innings. So, he would improve the Houston Astros team pitching stats across the board. It is safe to say that Iglesias production would be a boon to this already good bullpen.

The one problem with Iglesias this year is that he is giving up home runs at a career-high rate. Currently, he’s letting up 1.4 homers per nine innings, or 6 on the season. This would definitely be something the Astros staff would have to believe they can improve on before making a deal.

Iglesias would be a phenomenal addition to the Houston Astros bullpen. The more impact arms you have the better your team will be and the more dangerous the team will be come playoff time. However, Iglesias is not going to come cheap as he is still young and controllable.

Who would the Houston Astros be giving up?

Iglesias is on a cheap, long deal. He signed a seven-year, $27 million deal in 2014. The Astros would be getting 2+ years of Iglesias at $5 million. That’s a steal, right there. So, he’s going to take some prospects that will be hard to part with.

The Reds’ farm system is currently MLB.com’s 8th best system. So, it’s a pretty deep system without a bunch of holes. However, as I was digging through their system, I did notice one spot that they could improve, first base. Currently, they have Joey Votto manning first base for the foreseeable future but, there isn’t a future replacement in their farm system. The highest ranked first base prospect falls outside of their top 30.

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It just so happens that the Houston Astros have an excellent prospect that is slightly expendable who can play first base, Yordan Alvarez. Alvarez, who currently sits in AA, can play corner outfield and first base. So, he could slot into one of the corners and then slide to first once Votto is done.

Alvarez has pretty impressive stats through 43 games, .325 BA/1.005 OPS, 13 2B, 12 HR, 46 RBI, and 5 SB. He would be the centerpiece of this deal and should be an enticing prospect for the Reds. He would give the Reds another top 100 prospect and probably be their fourth best prospect.

Some other prospects that could entice the Red could be guys like David Paulino, Corbin Martin, or maybe even Rogelio Armenteros. All three are close to ready MLB arms with pretty good potential. None of these three will probably be a frontline starter but, they would be great middle of the rotation arms.

Some position players that could attract the Reds eye could be outfielders Myles Straw and JJ Matijevic, catcher Garrett Stubbs, or shortstop Jonathan Arauz. A combination of two or three of these could be enough to entice the Reds in addition to Alvarez.

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If the Cincinnati Reds ask for these guys and are comfortable to make a deal without Kyle Tucker or Forrest Whitley then the Houston Astros should pull the trigger. Iglesias would be an incredible addition to the bullpen in spite of not being a left-handed arm. So, Jeff Luhnow, pull the trigger.

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