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8 hours ago
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The Houston Astros will be looking for starting pitching depth at the trade deadline. In order to shoulder the brunt of the injuries that have plagued the staff, the team will need to search for upgrades this week.
One name that has come up recently in connection with the Astros is Washington Nationals ace MacKenzie Gore. The 26-year-old is in the midst of a career-year, pitching to a 3.52 ERA in 21 starts, and being named to his first career All-Star appearance.
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan have noted that the Astros are a potential fit for Gore should the team opt to trade him. The Nationals are currently 43-62, and well outside of the National League playoff picture.
“While the general sense is that Gore won't go anywhere, the Nationals are, at the very least, listening,” they wrote. “The prospect of Gore moving is tempting enough to want to engage: 144 strikeouts in 117⅔ innings with enough control that he's walking a career-low 3.4 per nine innings. Even if stuff-plus models aren't crazy for Gore, he gets elite swing-and-miss and is the sort of pitcher that could tempt teams to overpay.”
Gore still has two more seasons of team control on his contract beyond this season. Should the Astros acquire him, it would give them a three-headed monster of Gore, Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown atop the rotation.
Additionally, it gives the team a fallback option should Valdez depart in free agency following this season.
For this season, Gore would help catapult the Astros towards the very top of the American League, and help solidify their status as World Series Contenders.
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