Astros GM Says They're Targeting Pitchers After Two Season-Ending Surgeries

It seems like the Houston Astros are going to become buyers after all as their general manager said they are looking at pitching after Cristian Javier and Jose Urquidy underwent season-ending surgeries.

Apr 18, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

It's been a tough year for the Houston Astros as they entered the early part of June.

Not only have they drastically underperformed, sitting third in the AL West with a 28-35 record after their loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, but they also have dealt with tons of injuries that has been a main component in their poor performance.

That was only exacerbated further following the news that both Cristian Javier and Jose Urquidy would be out for the remainder of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgeries.

With these injuries, the Astros are going to be relying on Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti from here on out, two young pitchers who struggled early, but have recovered to put together solid outings recently.

Even if Houston is able to get high-level production from these two for the remainder of the year, their depth has drastically been reduced even with Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. expected to return later on.

Because of that, general manager Dana Brown said that he's looking to add pitching.

In an appearance on "The Sean Salisbury Show" of SportsTalk 790, he said, "I'm always in the market to get pitching. Pitching, pitching, pitching. Any time you can get pitching, I think it's going to help your ball club. We're always in the market for pitching—there's never a time that we're not in the market. I've said that multiple times."

This comes after he already doubled down on the notion the Astros would not become sellers at the trade deadline this year, despite speculation that they could be out of the playoff picture if these struggles continue.

Right now, that is looking much more like a reality than when their performance was considered "just a slow start."

Houston sits 7.5 back of the Seattle Mariners for first place in the AL West and 6.5 back of the third Wild Card spot.

They have shown an ability to get hot and go on runs, something Brown and the front office is banking on as they seem committed to not selling off their pieces.

His statement is also inline with what former GM Jim Bowden reported about what types of positions the Astros might target around the trade deadline if they do look to add pieces to this roster.

There have been plenty of names thrown out there as targets they could look to acquire, as well.