The Houston Astros (25-14) are atop the American League West division and lead the Los Angeles Angels by 5.5 games. They've put top prospect Carlos Correa on the fast track in the minor leagues and promoted 21-year-old Lance McCullers to make his MLB debut on Monday. What's next?
Apparently a trade for an established starting pitcher.
It's unknown if McCullers will stick with the club for the long-term, considering he was promoted from Double-A and the Astros are in need of veteran depth in their rotation. Beyond Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh the club's starters have not been impressive.
Scott Feldman (5.06 ERA) hasn't been too reliable; Roberto Hernandez (4.12 ERA) has made four quality starts out of seven, but has had trouble earning wins; and Brad Peacock and Brett Oberholtzer have made only two combined starts as they've dealt with injuries for most of the season.
As a result, general manager Jeff Luhnow is likely searching for help outside the organization, which he previously mentioned could eventually be an option.
"The Astros, examining a long list of potentially available starting pitchers, recently scouted White Sox right-hander Jeff Samardzija, among others, according to major-league sources," writes FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal.
"One rival executive says the Astros devalue their pitching prospects with the tandem system they use in the minors, but another suggests that the value of those pitchers actually is higher because they amass fewer innings."
Previous trade rumors suggested the Astros could be exploring a deal for Philadelphia Phillies' starter Cole Hamels or Oakland Athletics' starter Scott Kazmir, so they might be on Luhnow's radar as well. However, Kazmir and a few others could be more realistic than Hamels.
"It would be a surprise if Houston played for Cole Hamels, whose annual salary of $24 million is about half what the Astros' total payrolls sunk to in recent lowly years," writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. "Two names with Texas ties to keep an eye on for Houston, should they become available, are Scott Kazmir (a Houston native) and Clay Buchholz. Kyle Lohse, who's been mentioned before in this space, has ties to GM Jeff Luhnow from St. Louis days, for what it's worth."
While Buchholz and Lohse could very well be on Luhnow's radar, it's hard to believe they would take a gamble on two arms that have not been performing well this season when the club is in need of more consistency. However, things can change and the right-handers might rebound by the time the trade deadline approaches.
The 2015 MLB season still has ways to go, but the Astros have shown they can compete early on. If they can maintain the production through June then it's likely they'll make a trade for an established starter to give themselves a better chance to reach the postseason.