There is good news for the Houston Astros: the bats are starting to heat up, and Yordan Alvarez is “very close” to returning. Unfortunately, that comes with a bit of bad news. The young Astros bullpen has begun to show a bit of that inexperience. Relievers like Nivaldo Rodriguez (four earned runs in four and two-thirds innings) and Josh James (12 runs in eight innings) have had rough outings this year. Even veteran Ryan Pressly has had his struggles, giving up four runs in three and two-thirds innings. Believe it or not, the trade deadline is only a few short weeks away. Houston may want to make a move to grab a reliever. These are some options that can fix the Astros bullpen woes. All are on the final year of their deals, so they should be cheaper to acquire as soon-to-be free agents.
LHP Tony Watson
Entering his tenth year in the big leagues, Tony Watson has had a lot of success in his career. The 35-year-old has a 2.81 ERA in 576 career innings. He’s mostly been a setup man in his career, but he has converted 30 saves. The San Francisco Giants reliever did have the worst year of his career in 2019, but it was still solid, posting a 4.17 ERA in 54 innings. He has appeared in five games so far in 2020, allowing one earned run in three and two-thirds innings.
RHP Keone Kela
The youngest man on the list at 27, Keone Kela on the field has been very good. The righty has a 3.23 ERA in 214 innings. He has good strikeout stuff, having struck out 263 batters, a rate of 11 strikeouts per nine innings. He also has 28 saves to his name. Kela off the field is a more shaky story. In 2019, Kela was suspended by his team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, for an altercation with a staffer on the team.
In the same year, he was suspended for ten games for throwing near the head of then Cincinnati Reds utilityman Derek Dietrich, which was one of the factors that led to their infamous brawl. If he is focused he can be a valuable asset. He has yet to appear in a game in 2020 due to a positive Covid-19 test, but he was activated ahead of Thursday’s game, coincidentally against the Reds.
RHP Brandon Workman
Few relievers have been as dominant as Brandon Workman since the start of 2019. The 32-year-old has a 1.84 ERA in 76 innings, striking out 111 batters. He has racked up 19 saves and an impressive 10 wins out of the bullpen, with just one loss. Perhaps most incredible is the fact that he has given up just one home run in that span. The Boston Red Sox reliever has been the definition of stability in the bullpen.
The trade deadline is on August 31, a few short weeks away. Relievers are a highly sought-after commodity, so Houston may want to make a move soon. Bullpens can be really finicky, so it’s possible that it can fix itself, but with only a month and a half left, there isn’t much time to find out. Anyone of these relievers could be a valuable addition to this young Astros bullpen. They could be stabilizing forces in this shaky, inexperienced staff.
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