The Houston Astros have added a pitcher at the trade deadline, trading for Scott Kazmir with the Oakland Athletics to give Dallas Keuchel some help at the top of the rotation as the team tries to make a playoff push and the team only had to give up some minor leaguers to get it done.
Houston is not looking to sell the farm after rebuilding for a number of years and general manager Jeff Luhnow was looking for a way to get pitching without giving up too much. According to Hardball Talk, the team is giving up minor league players Jake Nottingham and Dan Mengden in the trade to the Oakland A's, who are expected to continue selling at the trading deadline.
Kazmir has been traded multiple times in his career and now he gets the chance to help the Astros in the AL West race. The team is looking to get back on top of the division after falling behind the Angels and they are also in the wild card race. Kazmir has been solid with the Athletics and he has put up an ERA under 3.15 with the team in 50 starts overall. This season Kazmir has pitched well and he has a sub 2.50 ERA and now is going to be one of the top rotation pitchers for the Astros.
Keuchel has been on fire this season and now the team is getting some more depth as they come in at 10 games over .500 going into the end of July. The team has rebuilt for years and now they are on the cusp of making the playoffs. Kazmir is heading into free agency and he is considered to be one of the rental pitchers on the market. Kazmir is 5-5 this season and he stays in the AL West division with the deal. According to ESPN Stats, Kazmir has gone 4-0 with an ERA under 1.00 against teams in the West this season.
The Astros did not give up much and Jeff Passan at Yahoo Sports writes that the 2014 draft, which many called a "disaster" for the Astros, has given the team a strong pitcher. Passan writes that players "A.J. Reed and Derek Fisher are thriving" and now Mengden has helped the team add Kazmir. The Astrios likely will not make any other major deals and Kazmir comes in after the team reportedly was interested in Cole Hamels. The Astros have half their games against the West at the end of the season and that could be big with Kazmir coming in with strong results against the division.
Check here for more on the trade for the Astros and the Athletics.
