- Commissioner’s statement on Ventura, Marte
- Ronnie O’Sullivan: Masters champion ‘felt so vulnerable’ in final
- Arron Fletcher Wins 2017 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event ($140,224)
- Smith challenges Warner to go big in India
- Moncada No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Braves land 2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Kingery makes MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- New Zealand wrap up 2-0 after Bangladesh implosion
- Mathews, Pradeep, Gunathilaka to return to Sri Lanka
- Elliott hopes for rain for Poli
Rogers: Astros lead contenders for Quintana
- Updated: January 7, 2017
The Astros are ready to win the American League West and achieve the destiny that Sports Illustrated proclaimed for them a few years back — 2017 World Series champions.
There’s just this one nagging detail.
They don’t have the starting pitching to go head to head with the Red Sox or Indians, and they’ll have their hands full against the Rangers and Mariners.
• Hot Stove Tracker
Their ace, who won an AL Cy Young Award in 2015, turned in a 4.55 ERA over only 168 innings last season. Their rotation ranked in the middle of the AL with a 4.37 ERA, allowing the 12th highest opponents’ batting average (.271) while working 917 innings, ranking ninth.
The Astros have thus far addressed that deficit by adding Charlie Morton, a 33-year-old reclamation project who hasn’t pitched consistently well since the first half of the ’14 season, when Bo Porter was still the Houston manager.
Morton has never been tested in the AL. Yet he and rookie Joe Musgrove — maybe Chris Devenski, if he’s moved from the bullpen — are the guys expected to lift manager A.J. Hinch’s rotation until the 21-year-old Francis Martes and 22-year-old David Paulino are ready.
No wonder Jeff Luhnow has joined the Pirates’ Neal Huntington in maintaining a strong pursuit of White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana, who joins the Rays’ Chris Archer as the best pitcher possibly available in trade.
Let’s rate the Astros’ need for Quintana at 9 on a scale of 1-10.
White Sox general manager Rick Hahn has said he’ll hold onto Quintana until a team meets his asking price of multiple young big leaguers and impact prospects. The Astros are in excellent shape there, too.
They can start a trade with the 24-year-old Musgrove, who has pitched with polish in the Minor Leagues and acquitted himself well in 62 Major League innings last year. But they’ve so far refused to include third baseman Alex Bregman or 20-year-old outfielder Kyle Tucker (although Peter Gammons reported that the Rays turned down a proposal for Archer that included Tucker).
Other potential trade pieces for the Astros include Martes and Paulino, but the White Sox seem more interested in adding bats than arms after landing five pitching prospects in the trades that sent Chris Sale and Adam Eaton to the Red Sox and Nationals, respectively. Outfielder Derek Fisher, a 23-year-old from Virginia who reached Triple-A last season, and 24-year-old outfielder Teoscar Hernandez could also fill out a package. The same goes for first baseman A.J. Reed, who tore up Double-A in ’15 but struggled when he was hurried to Houston.
Let’s call the Astros’ resources to pull off a Quintana trade an 8.
As to other teams:
Pirates
Need for Quintana: 8 The window to win with Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole as the headliners is closing fast. But Huntington has …
