Boom goes the dynamite.
At the buzzer, the Astros are coming away from the deadline with Zack Greinke, reports The Athletics’ Ken Rosenthal. The pitcher was pulled mid-game in New York.
BREAKING: #Astros get Greinke.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 31, 2019
The six-time All-Star is still in mint condition, pitching a 2.87 ERA over 141 innings with the Diamondbacks this season.
In exchange for the veteran pitcher, the Astros will receive a deluxe style gift basket of prospects. I’m talking those tower gift boxes with the chocolate covered pretzels and fancy caramels. The Astros will be sending Seth Beer, Josh Rojas, Corbin Martin, and JP Bukaskas to Arizona.
#Astros traded Beer, Josh Rojas Corbin Martin, Bukaskas for Greinke and cash from #diamondbacks
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) July 31, 2019
Beer, a former Clemson slugger, is currently slashing .299/.407/.543 for Double-A Corpus Christi. A former first round pick in 2018, Beer has already started to improve his selectivity at the plate, improving his walk rate from 3.51 to 9.40.
J.B. Bukauskas and Corbin Martin were two of the better arms in the Astros’ farm system. Despite their upside, it is worth mentioning that Bukauskas has struggled this season with a 5.25 ERA in 20 appearances in Double-A this season although the strikeout rate has remained quite good (98 punchouts in 85.2 innings). As for Martin, he has had to deal with injuries but remains a very intriguing arm.
Josh Rojas is the lesser prospect that the Diamondbacks are getting back in the deal, but he is still interesting. He projects as a utility guy who has shown some ability to hit with a .978 OPS this season between Double-A and Triple-A this season.
