Composite photo by Brandon Strange
The Astros have made a trade for Zack Greinke of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Astros get Greinke while sending prospects Seth Beer, Josh Rojas, Corbin Martin, and J.B. Bukauskas to the Diamondbacks in return. The Astros get a third ace to their rotation and do so without giving up the coveted prospects of Kyle Tucker and Forrest Whitley.
#Astros' haul: Zack Greinke, Aaron Sanchez, Joe Biagini.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 31, 2019
To dbacks for Greinke: Corbin Martin, jb buskauskas, 2 other recent high picks of theirs in system
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 31, 2019
Greinke is 10-4 in 2019 with a 2.87 ERA and 128 strikeouts. While his strikeout numbers don't come close to those of Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole, he is still a reliable arm that can go deep into games and get outs. He also sits second in the league in WHIP, currently at 0.94 which is second to only Houston's own Verlander.
Greinke has a great resume; he is a seven-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glove winner, and 2009 Cy Young winner in the National League. He currently sits 31st on the all-time strikeout leaderboard with 2,563 in his career. Zack also has plenty of experience in the postseason, starting in eleven games over five playoffs dating back to 2011. He has not, however, had great success in those starts, posting a 3-4 record and 4.03 ERA accumulatively.
His best start in the postseason came in 2014 with the Dodgers when he went seven shutout innings against the Cardinals in an NLDS win. This season, his best start was arguably the July 5th game at home against the Rockies where he went seven innings without allowing a run while striking out nine.
Greinke is far from a rental, he will be under team control through the end of the 2021 season, marrying him with the Astros for the same amount of time as Justin Verlander, should they keep him through his current contract.
The acquisition of Greinke is a strong move for Houston, who is vying to not only improve their chances to win in 2019 but in the coming years.
*Update:
The Astros also acquired Blue Jays pitchers Joe Biagini and Aaron Sanchez in exchange for Derek Fisher. Earlier Wednesday, Houston traded OF Tony Kemp to the Cubs for catcher Martin Maldonado.
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Jose Altuve powers Astros past Tigers with two-run homer
Apr 28, 2025, 10:25 pm
Through the first month of the season, the Houston Astros' offensive struggles are becoming impossible to ignore — especially when compared to division rivals like the Seattle Mariners.
Isaac Paredes currently leads the Astros with a .392 slugging percentage, which ranks just 88th overall in Major League Baseball. Jeremy Peña isn't far behind, sitting 93rd at .388. For context, not one Astro has cracked the .400 slugging mark, while the Mariners boast four players who have — though a few haven’t officially qualified for leaderboards.
Power outage
The power disparity is stark. The Mariners have already blasted 42 home runs this season — double the Astros’ total of just 21. Houston, in fact, ranks 27th in home runs, 26th in OPS, and 26th in slugging across all of Major League Baseball, dead last among AL West teams. Paredes is the only Astro with at least four home runs, while the Mariners have six such players.
The lineup issues are even deeper. Christian Walker and Yainer Diaz — both expected to provide significant offensive contributions — are batting under .200, placing them among the 22 worst averages in the league. Jose Altuve, typically a steady force, is also underperforming by his standards. His .310 on-base percentage is his lowest since the shortened COVID season, and he has only managed five extra-base hits thus far.
Should Joe Espada consider playing Altuve at second base more often?
With second base production sagging — Mauricio Dubón and Brendan Rodgers have failed to provide much punch — the Astros could face a difficult decision: increase Altuve’s time at second to open up opportunities for bats like Chas McCormick or Zach Dezenzo. While the organization has preferred to manage Altuve’s workload at second base carefully, their hand may be forced if the offense continues to sputter. At this point, another month of this and all bets are off.
On the pitching side, there’s some potential good news. Lance McCullers Jr. is nearing a return after an impressive rehab start and could rejoin the team during their series in Chicago. Meanwhile, Forrest Whitley has suffered another setback with a knee injury. A major question for Houston is which of the two — McCullers or Whitley — will be able to make a real impact this season. Given Whitley's struggles to stay healthy, McCullers appears the safer bet.
Don't forget the Astros' biggest goal for this season
Behind the scenes, the Astros’ front office remains focused on a bigger-picture goal: getting under the luxury tax threshold. With several large contracts set to come off the books after the season, Houston appears committed to resetting financially — even if that means enduring some growing pains in the short term.
For now, though, the Astros find themselves in unfamiliar territory: chasing the division both in the standings and at the plate.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!
*ChatGPT assisted.
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