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The Astros have more starting pitching than they actually need, and stand to add another starter to the club soon, assuming all continues to go well with Lance McCullers Jr. in his rehab starts. The club should soon be dealing with the problem of having seven guys to fill five or six spots. A good problem to have of course, but one that could change if the club makes moves at the deadline.
The second of August is approaching quickly and the Astros have no real massive need to make any moves. They are living in the world of improving the club in certain spots if the right opportunity presents itself. It is a very good place to live if you are Astros general manager James Click.
While getting another bat seems obvious and it would never hurt to grab another leverage arm for your bullpen, the question has to be asked, should the Astros chase starting pitching at the deadline? Yes it sounds crazy, but it was not too long ago that it was the same thing the club did in the middle of another great run.
Judging how James Click will operate at the deadline is still virtually impossible. He has had one real deadline to work and he was busy last year fixing some serious issues for the club. We have no real idea on how he feels about making over the top moves, but it is fair to wonder if that really is his style given the club that he came to the Astros from. For Click, making a jump at a starter would show he is willing to make that over the top move. And if he were to pull it off, it very well could be because he is trading one of his starters to get a bat at the deadline as well.
There have been some links to the Astros and Luis Castillo of the Reds. The two time all-star is putting together another really good season and has tapped into more control than he has ever had before. If the Astros were to go out and make the over the top move for a starting pitcher, Castillo is the kind of guy you go get. But it will come at a cost of course, to get the best pitcher on the market will cost you several years of player control from multiple prospects. They say strengthening a strength is never a bad thing. That may just end up being the Astros philosophy a week from now.