Houston Astros: Team still remains hot on Trevor Bauer’s trade trail

The Houston Astros remain in contention to get a deal done for Trevor Bauer but a pact has yet to be made. Who are they fighting with? Let’s take a look.

Houston Astros fans — the July 31 trade deadline’s inching ever so closer and deals are falling into place as the time passes.  So far, the franchise has not been a part of any agreed-upon proposals but I’d imagine that it’s going to be within the last few days before things have to be finalized.

I expect the trade deadline to be busier than ever before, especially with the league decided to eliminate the August “waiver” trade deadline and to make it an all-stakes, red-letter date for MLB teams to land the players that they want.

Eric Sogard was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays earlier today while Marcus Stroman — a pitcher that I wanted badly on this team — seems to be on his way to the Big Apple as the New York Mets reportedly have an agreement, pending a medical review.

So those are two big names that are off the books but there’s so much more out that the Houston Astros could target.

Let’s talk about what we know already — the Houston Astros want starting pitching as they can’t continue to string along this bullpen and wear their arms out just to get through the bottom portion of the rotation.

The team has been linked to rumors for targeting Noah Syndergaard, Matthew Boyd and Robbie Ray to name a few.

But one of the more surprising rumors that surfaced earlier this month was the Houston Astros serious interest in Trevor Bauer.  That said interest hasn’t waned as per a write-up by the New York Post’s Joel Sherman July 8 as well as the latest report from Connor Byrne of MLB Trade Rumors.

The Houston Astros‘ interest in Bauer is understandable from a talent standpoint but quite puzzling from philosophical regard.  After all, his publicly known beef with the team where he has accused them of cheating, riling up Alex Bregman immensely, is something for the Houston Astros brass to consider carefully before bringing him into the clubhouse.

But as with any cure for a remedy, winning games is a damn good one and if he does that, all would be forgiven, not necessarily forgotten.

Bauer, 28, is still a trade candidate despite the Cleveland Indians climb to a 62-43 record, being only two games out of first in the AL Central division.  They stepping on the heels of the Minnesota Twins so it will definitely be interesting to see what they do by Wednesday.

The right-handed pitcher will earn $13 million this season with the potential prorated portion of his contract being around $6.4M for whoever gets the pleasure of getting his services.

His has one more season of club control before becoming a free agent in 2021 and although that should be appealing for the Indians, his escalating salary may be too much for them to handle.  The Houston Astros have proven they can absorb potential escalating costs long-term — see the Justin Verlander trade — so this is a deal the team can certainly make.

Cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes indicates that Bauer is “almost certainly” not going to be on the Indians’ roster next season.

So it’s settled then — Bauer won’t be in an Indians’ uniform so the ball is now in the Houston Astros‘ diamond to strike a deal for him.  Of course, the Indians are going to want Kyle Tucker for him but that’s not going happen, nor do I want it to.

When I wrote about this topic earlier this month, I’d definitely put Freudis Nova, J.B. Bukauskas

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or Ronnie Dawson on the table for a possible agreement.

But not Tucker for Bauer — no way, no how.

He still hasn’t pitched well as of late — after an All-Star campaign last season — which included a start that he had today against the Kansas City Royals where he had an awful 5th inning that was accentuated with him tossing his ball over the center-field wall in frustration just before getting the hook from Terry Francona.

This isn’t something to expect out of him regularly but I imagine the continuous rumors over his future with the Indians may have had some sort of an effect on him, despite his knowledge of the business.

This is a risky venture for the Houston Astros but I’m not opposed to making a trade for Bauer.  The boost that this starting rotation would get from him immediately is worth taking the gamble.

Bauer has posted a 9-8 record, a 3.79 ERA while tossing 185 strikeouts off 66 earned runs through 156.2 innings pitched in 24 starts.  Before today’s game, his FIP was at a 4.19 and his WHIP is at a 1.21 which are quite gaudy that allude to situations that he can control.

Let’s give it a go — come on Houston Astros!