It’s already sent shockwaves through the American League and immediately made the Houston Astros World Series favorites. Wednesday evening the Astros acquired right-hander Zack Greinke from the Arizona Diamondbacks moments before the MLB trade deadline.
“We had him (Greinke) high on our list,” Astros general manager Jeff Lunhow said. “We didn’t know if this was even remotely possible, and it really wasn’t until the last 48 hours, really the last 24 hours that we started to get traction on something. (Team owner Jim Crane) supported us and agreed that we could make the appropriate investment dollar-wise, and it became a matter of finding the right prospects, the right mix of players, to go back. We really don’t have any holes right now. If we stay healthy this team is as good as any team I’ve ever seen.”
After trading for Zack Greinke, the Astros now have 4 of the top 15 starting pitchers by ERA this season. pic.twitter.com/mmwIeB2Dvl
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 31, 2019
The price for the six-time All-Star and former Cy Young winner was a relative bargain. Houston sent four prospects, pitchers Corbin Martin and J.N. Bukauskas to Arizona, along with infielder Josh Rojas and first baseman Seth Beer. The Diamondbacks are also shipping $24 million in cash to Houston as part of the deal.
Once news of the deal hit Vegas, the Astros moved to +275 to win the World Series and +135 to win the American League, leap-frogging the New York Yankees. This morning, Houston was +450 to win the World Series and +200 to win the ALCS.
Owner Jim Crane on the #Astros landing Zack Greinke: "Jeff (Luhnow) pulled this deal off. I approved the deal. We wanted to do something game-breaking because we're in a position to win and that's what we did."
— Mark Berman (@MarkBerman_) July 31, 2019
Now Greinke slides into a rotation boasting Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander. The 35-year-old pitcher is 10-4 this season with a 2.90 ERA. Houston is now one of only two teams with active Cy Young winners. Verlander took home the award in 2011 while a member of the Detroit Tigers.
Your 2019 leaders in WHIP:
1-Justin Verlander 0.81
2-Zack Greinke 0.94
5-Gerrit Cole 1.00That's your Game 1-2-3 starters in Houston. Scary.
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) July 31, 2019
Greinke still has two years left on his current contract and is due to make $64 million over the next two seasons.
While Greinke’s trade made the big splash, the Astros made a handful of other moves. They added pitchers Aaron Sanchez and Joe Biagini, as well as minor league outfielder Cal Stevenson from the Toronto Blue Jays in a trade that cost them Derek Fisher.
Gerrit Cole said the Astros found out they were getting Zack Greinke at 4:08. There was a team meeting held.
“A.J. (Hinch) came in with a big ass grin.”
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 31, 2019
Arizona will plug in the newly-acquired Mike Leake from the Seattle Mariners into Greinke’s former starting spot.
