MLB Trade Rumors: Astros & Diamondbacks Linked as Trade Partners

The Houston Astros are back in a familiar spot this season, on top of the AL West Division, with a four-game lead. But they're undoubtedly looking at where they need to solidify their roster for a long postseason run.

The obvious place to look is in the starting rotation. With two studs at the top in Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez, there's a steep dropoff after that. Lance McCullers is nowhere close to where he needs to be in coming back after three years off the mound; Cristian Javier and Luis Garcia are both coming back from Tommy John surgery and have yet to pitch this year. Although they're somewhat close to returning, who knows how they'll perform and when they'll get up to speed?

Insider Ken Rosenthal, on Foul Territory, says the Astros need to be talking with the Arizona Diamondbacks to swing a deal with one of their pending free agent starters, to strengthen the rotation.

Chandler Rome of The Athletic, and of our network, speculated that they will go for Merrill Kelly to strengthen the rotation further... So why not strengthen your strength? Put Kelly with Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez and you've really got something.

Rome had warned, however, that it will be costly to land a pitcher of Kelly's ilk. "They may not have enough prospect capital to land Merrill Kelly — a Houston native in the final year of his contract — but if owner Jim Crane covets a splashy name while contemplating whether to cross into the luxury tax, Kelly fits the bill."

The 36-year-old, who has been in Arizona for his entire seven-year career, has an excellent 3.34 ERA this season in 20 starts, with a 1.05 WHIP and a 113:33 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Only once in the last four years has his ERA crept over the 4.00 mark, and even then, in 2024, it was only 4.03.

A Brown-Valdez-Kelly threesome in the rotation for the playoffs, along with an excellent back end of the bullpen, would make the Astros tough to beat.