Extra arm may be close at hand
Tigers series offers direct look at possible trade target Wilson
PHILADELPHIA — Perhaps the best available option who could fortify the Astros’ relief corps will sit in the opposite bullpen at Comerica Park this weekend.
Heck, maybe Justin Wilson could even catch the team’s flight back to Houston on Sunday.
Wilson has long made a ton of sense as a trade target for the American League-leading Astros (67-34). He pitches from the left side, he’s not a rental, and he’s not as highly paid as a more marquee name like the Baltimore Orioles’ Zach Britton.
He’s also in the middle of a great season, which makes him coveted by most any contender in the market for bullpen reinforcements.
No deal involving the Astros appeared imminent Thursday, but it has long seemed likely that general manager Jeff Luhnow would take his negotiations to the wire before Monday’s 3 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline. According to a report Thursday from ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, the Astros haven’t made an offer to the Tigers “to distinguish themselves from the pack.”
With time winding down, the Astros remain focused on the potential to acquire pitching that would represent a definitive upgrade to their fourman playoff rotation or their group of leverage relievers.
Thin market for starters
Acquiring a starter has seemed less and less likely as the deadline has neared. Oakland Athletics righthander Sonny Gray, who has a 1.37 ERA in his last six starts, might be the only viable starting option on the market for the Astros, who won’t pull the trigger on a deal for a starter unless they feel he would pitch a postseason game over two of Charlie Morton, Collin McHugh, Mike Fiers and Brad Peacock.
Starting depth is no longer a problem. And as of Thursday, the Astros were tied for fifth in the majors in rotation ERA (3.92) but ranked 18th in bullpen ERA (4.23).
Shortening games in the postseason by bolstering their bullpen is the more likely route for the Astros, who could use Chris Devenski and Peacock more creatively if they acquire another late-inning arm to complement closer Ken Giles and setup men Will Harris and Luke Gregerson.
The 29-year-old Wilson fits that billing. Although he’s lefthanded, an area the Astros are clearly lacking, he’s much more of a one-inning reliever in the late innings than a lefty specialist. He’s actually been better against righties this season (.125/.229/.302) than lefties (.220/.267/.366).
Wilson has only bolstered his trade value since the beginning of the season. He has a 2.75 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 391⁄3 innings, allowing 21 hits and 16 walks. Wilson, listed at 6-2 and 205 pounds, relies on a fastball that averages about 96 mph and a cutter that typically registers in the low 90s. He also mixes in a mid-80s slider.
Eligible for arbitration
The price for top-end relievers is high, especially for Wilson, who is owed only the rest of his $2.7 million salary this season and will be arbitration eligible again in the winter. As the Chronicle reported last week, the Tigers asked the Astros for outfielder Derek Fisher in trade discussions. The more Fisher contributes at the major league level, the less likely the Astros become to part with him.
Luhnow has kept his intentions close to the vest throughout the days and weeks leading to the trade deadline. He spent the first half of this week with the team in Philadelphia and will attend Jeff Bagwell’s Hall of Fame induction Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y. before he flies back to Houston to hunker down with his top lieutenants on deadline day.
Discussions should intensify over the weekend, a time when the Astros’ most viable bullpen target won’t be far from them.