The Houston Astros may be making their move in a wide-open AL West.
Houston is expected to be in on the trade sweepstakes for both Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers and Sonny Gray of the Boston Red Sox, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported on Sunday. Both players are expected to be made available by their respective teams ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
Skubal, the reigning back-to-back AL Cy Young winner, is in his final year under contract and holds a 4-4 record with a 3.15 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP through 11 starts this season. The reeling 40-50 Tigers are expected to be sellers, and one particular team has already been pinpointed as a possible frontrunner for Skubal.
As for Gray, the three-time MLB All-Star, he has been the undisputed ace of the Red Sox this season. He has a glowing 10-1 record with a 2.60 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP through 16 starts and is likely up for sale with Boston sitting at an AL-worst 39-48 and holding a mutual option on Gray for 2027.
The Astros are a sub-.500 team themselves this year at 45-47. But in a weak division, they are just two games out of first place and one game out of a Wild Card spot.
Houston already failed to make the playoffs last season for the first time in nearly a decade. Their pitching staff has been very up-and-down this year, and now they may be taking steps to address that over the next month.
