The Houston Astros took a major step towards winning the 2019 World Series on Wednesday afternoon. While it looked like the MLB Trade Deadline would pass without any particularly major moves happening, it was revealed after 4 p.m. EST that the current American League leaders pulled off a monster deal to acquire Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke.
The news of the deal was first reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic before getting confirmed by reporters from around the sport.
BREAKING: #Astros get Greinke.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 31, 2019
BREAKING: Greinke to Astros, source tells ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 31, 2019
It was eventually reported that, in exchange for Greinke, the Astros would ship four prospects to Arizona, with the players ranked third, fourth, and fifth in their minor league system on the move.
Corbin Martin, J.B. Bukauskas, Seth Beer and Josh Rojas are headed to the Diamondbacks for Zack Greinke, source tells ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 31, 2019
Astros send No. 3 prospect 1B/OF Seth Beer, No. 4 RHP J.B. Bukauskas, No. 5 RHP Corbin Martin to Diamondbacks in Greinke deal, per @Joelsherman1 pic.twitter.com/aVFup0yqaN
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) July 31, 2019
While it’s a decent haul for a Diamondbacks team that currently sits three games out of the Wild Card, this is a potential World Series-shifting move by Houston. The Astros came into Wednesday with the second-best record in baseball, a mere half-game behind the NL-leading Los Angeles Dodgers. They could have used a third arm behind aces Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole, and in Greinke, they managed to acquire a third All-Star-caliber starter.
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
With the move, Houston now has the second-best odds to win the second World Series in franchise history.
After acquiring Zach Greinke, Astros (+310) with the second-shortest World Series title odds (via @FDSportsbook).
— Eli Hershkovich (@EliHershkovich) July 31, 2019
It’s a gigantic acquisition for the Astros for a few years. Beyond the fact that they didn’t have to give up either of the top-two prospects in their minor league pipeline, a potentially dominant rotation, and the fact that the second-best team in the AL, the New York Yankees, didn’t bolster their subpar starting pitching, Houston set itself up to be even more of a force come October than originally believed. On a deadline day that looked like it was going to be quiet, the Astros decided to give baseball fans some fireworks.
