MLB insider ‘can see’ Houston Astros shipping off star pitcher

Looks like the Houston Astros might wake up a bit.

Winners of two games in a row, they are now 6-4 in their last 10 games and find themselves only 5.5 from first place in their division and 3.5 from third Wild Card place.

They’re firmly within reach, especially with six games left this month against the lowly Los Angeles Angels, Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies.

That gives them enough time to get back into the playoff picture before July, when the Astros front office will have 30 days to figure out what they want to do before the trade deadline.

While everyone has speculated that Houston might do the unthinkable and become a seller, general manager Dana Brown has repeatedly stated that he would not trade his assets and might actually become a buyer.

He firmly believes they will make the playoffs, and given the pedigree of the players in the clubhouse, that is by no means a stretch.

Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker and Framber Valdez are the names being bandied about as potential trade chips they could sell if they drop out of the playoff race before July 30, but MLB insider Jon Heyman doesn’t think that these players are going nowhere.

However, there is someone on this roster who can see the Astros shipping out.

“(Ryan) Pressly is the only guy I can see them trading. The prep for them hasn’t done as well as him as a closer. People know he’s a really close closer. I think they could get a lot for him if they traded with Pressly,” Heyman said.

That would certainly be interesting.

The fact is, Ryan Pressly hasn’t been able to fit into his new setup role the way Houston would have liked.

After never posting an ERA above 4.00 as a member of the Astros, he sits at 4.81 on the year and has missed four of his five save opportunities when given the chance to close the matches.

Houston signed Josh Hader this offseason to a record five-year, $95 million contract that indicates he will be the guy coming out of the backfield of their bullpen moving forward.

This makes Pressly replaceable, especially with the way he has played.

Of course, contending teams are rarely trading bullpen arms, especially someone with the history and talent this righty possesses, but if they’re looking to recoup assets and don’t think Whether Pressly can return to the form he showed during his tenure, they could get the best of both worlds by trading the veteran.

Not only could they be buyers at the deadline, getting more starting pitching to replace injured Cristian Javier and Jose Urquidy, but they could also get something in return from a team in need by shipping out a struggling Pressly.

This is certainly exaggerated.

However, he could enter the open market after this year, given that he has a mutual option to return in 2025.

As Heyman suggested, they could potentially get a goal from a team looking for a rapprochement.

Again, this is unlikely to happen, but perhaps it should be something Brown and his front office consider as they look to replenish their talent-strapped farm system.