MLB-NEWS: The Cincinnati Reds have formally acquired the elite infielder for the Houston Astros, as reported by ESPN. A four-year, $178.5 million contract was reached following……

Four Houston Astros trade targets, including an All-Star, could improve their postseason chances

During the first two months of the season, the Houston Astros were among the greatest teams in baseball, which fueled rumors that they would be dealt at the MLB trade deadline. Now that the Astros have turned things around in the early summer, they will be looking to deal players who can increase the team’s prospects of contending.

There are many holes in the Astros roster. The Astros’ first baseman, who ranks 30th in OPS (.537) going into today’s MLB games, have had a lot of trouble with their pitching. Thankfully, appealing possibilities exist at both positions before to the MLB trade deadline.

Houston Astros rotation statistics (FanGraphs):.241 batting average allowed (12th), 11.8% K-BB rate (25th), 1.34 WHIP (25th), and 9.9% walk rate (09th)

Jack Flaherty appears to be in the best shape of his career during his prime years as a St. Louis Cardinal. Flaherty’s reputation suffered over two poor seasons in St. Louis (180.1 innings pitched with a 4.84 ERA). Now that he’s on a prove-it deal, Flaherty has been among the American League’s top pitchers this year.

With 83.1 innings pitched, the 28-year-old righty has a career-best walk rate of 4% and a career-high strikeout rate of 33.3 percent. This season, he has limited opponents to a.221 batting average while allowing just 10 home runs and 12 walks to 324 batters in total. All the Astros rotation needs is flaherty.