The Houston Astros swung for the fences at the trade deadline and hit a home run.
The Astros acquired Zack Greinke in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona is giving up four prospects in return, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. He says Corbin Martin, JB Bukauskas, Seth Beer and Josh Rojas are included in the deal. Beer, Bukauskas and Martin are Houston’s Nos. 3, 4 and 5 prospects according to MLB.com’s rankings.
The Diamondbacks had been looking to move Greinke, who is signed through 2021. Arizona is paying $24 million and Houston assumed $53 million owed to Greinke as part of the deal, according to Ken Rosethal. If the Diamondbacks are indeed paying a good portion of the money he is owed, this deal could be similar to the trade the Astros made to acquire Justin Verlander in 2017 when Detroit paid $16 million of the money he was owed.
Not only would Houston have Greinke for the remainder of this season, but they will have him for another two seasons to help their rotation. This could be a backup plan in case they are unable to re-sign impending free agent Gerrit Cole.
The Astros also acquired Aaron Sanchez in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays prior to the deadline. Sanchez has a 6.07 ERA this season, but some teams may have been encouraged by his recent 10-strikeout outing.
