Houston Astros Linked as Surprise Landing Spot for Two-Time All-Star Ace
The Houston Astros pitching staff has been depleted by injuries which could force them into making a trade at the MLB deadline.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic gave a list of trade targets for each team in the league and had a surprising name for Houston: New York Mets starter Luis Severino.
The starting rotation for the Astros right now looks nothing like what they expected it to at the start of the year. Ronel Blanco, Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti are the healthy arms with at least a little bit of experience. The team has been forced into calling up 2023 MLB draft selection Jake Bloss to make the jump from Double-A just to have a full starting rotation.
Justin Verlander will return at some point, but more work needs to be done than that.
While Severino isn't the same player that he was before essentially missing three seasons, he has had a nice bounce back year and could be just what Houston needs if New York decides to move on.
He's a career 3.76 ERA guy that has performed at high levels for most of his career, but his downfall has been health.
The New York Yankees signed him out of the Dominican Republic back in 2011. By 2015, he was the No. 1 prospect in their farm and No. 23 in the entire league.
He was very solid once he finally debuted, but took a step back in 2016 which forced him to spend some more time in the minor leagues.
Once 2017 came around, though, he quickly established himself as one of the best pitchers in the league, earning back-to-back All-Star appearances.
The righty's dominance was short lived, however. As he only pitched three games in the 2019 season. The following year was tough on everybody, but he didn't even make an appearance after undergoing Tommy John surgery in February.
He finally got the ball rolling with New York again in 2022, but once again missed a large chunk of the season due to another injury.
His last season with the Yankees was a disappointing one. He got a late start due to yet another injury. Once healthy, he struggled consistently with his ERA ballooning up to 6.65 and the team decided it was time to finally move on.
The 30-year-old signed a one-year 'prove it' deal with the Mets and things have finally gone smoothly.
Severino has a 3.52 ERA and 1.198 WHIP through 14 starts. He's on pace to pitch more than he has since 2018 and some key changes to his approach could provide some more longevity.
The former flamethrower's fastball isn't as dominant as it used to be, slowing down to under 96 MPH on average for the first time since his rookie season. He also just throws a four-seamer less in general. He's mixing in a lot more sinkers than he used to.
Once being an overpowering strikeout pitcher, he now has one of the highest ground-ball rates in the league and it's working for him.
It may seem scary for the Astros to put their eggs in the basket of a guy with an injury-riddled past, but he would be a relatively cheap option.
DYLAN SANDERS
Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders