Astros Have One Clear Need To Address in Bullpen Ahead of MLB Trade Deadline

There is one thing the Houston Astros need to round out their stellar bullpen.

Jun 5, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Houston Astros relief pitcher Kaleb Ort (63) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros' most pressing need ahead of the MLB trade deadline this year is to acquire a left-handed hitter.

Their lineup is incredibly unbalanced, especially without star designated hitter Yordan Alvarez. With him sidelined, more often than not, their entire starting lineup is right-handed hitters.

That makes them easy to game plan against, with opponents just loading up on right-handed starting pitching and relievers.

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Speaking of right-handed relievers, that is actually an underrated need for the Astros ahead of the deadline.

“With a closer and one of MLB’s best setup relievers on the roster, plus a bevy of left-handed reliever options, getting a right-handed reliever capable of locking down the seventh inning would be a priority. But like other teams, someone within reason,” wrote Greg Jewett of The Athletic (subscription required).

Houston has most of their bullpen roles nailed down.

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Josh Hader is the clear-cut closer, looking as dominant as ever in what should be an All-Star campaign.

Ahead of him in the pecking order is Bryan Abreu, who has 19 holds thus far this season and has been one of the most dominant setup men in baseball.

The plethora of left-handed options that Jewett mentioned includes Steven Okert, Bryan King and Bennett Sousa.

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Four out of their top five leaders in appearances this season are southpaws, which isn’t a bad problem to have. Manager Joe Espada can mix and match throughout a game given how many options he has.

But, outside of Abreu, right-handed options to call upon late in games are limited.

Shawn Dubin, who was emerging as a reliable source of production, was recently placed on the injured list with a forearm strain.

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Tayler Scott was nowhere near as effective in 2025 as he was in 2024, being granted free agency in May after recording a 5.40 ERA in 17 appearances. He has since signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks and is continuing to struggle with a 7.71 ERA in five outings.

The same goes for Kaleb Ort, who has a 5.48 ERA thus far this year after a strong 2024 when he had a 2.55 ERA.

Finding an affordable right-handed option to mix into the late-game rotation shouldn’t be too hard for general manager Dana Brown, but he isn’t entering the market with many trade chips at his disposal.

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