Astros GM says they’re targeting pitchers after two season-ending surgeries

It’s been a rough year for the Houston Astros as they enter early June.

Not only have they significantly underperformed, sitting in third place in the AL West with a 28-35 record following their loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, but they’ve also dealt with tons of injuries that have been one of the main causes of their poor performance. .

This was only exacerbated after it was announced that Cristian Javier and Jose Urquidy would be out for the remainder of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgeries.

With these injuries, the Astros will now rely on Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti, two young pitchers who struggled early but have recovered to put together strong outings recently.

Even if Houston is able to get high-level production from these two for the rest of the year, their depth has been significantly reduced, although Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. are expected to return later.

For that reason, general manager Dana Brown said he was looking to add pitchers.

During an appearance on SportsTalk 790’s “The Sean Salisbury Show,” he said, “I’m always in the market to throw. Throw, throw, throw. Any time you can throw, I think it’s going to help your ball. club. We’re always looking for pitchers – there’s never a time we’re not on the market, I’ve said that many times.

This comes after he already doubled down on the idea that the Astros would not become sellers at the trade deadline this year, despite speculation that they could be out of the playoffs if these struggles continue.

Right now, that feels a lot more like a reality than when their performance was considered “just a slow start.”

Houston sits 7.5 behind the Seattle Mariners for first place in the AL West and 6.5 behind third place Wild Card.

They’ve shown an ability to warm up and go on the run, something Brown and the front office are banking on as they seem determined not to sell out their plays.

His statement is also consistent with what former general manager Jim Bowden reported about the types of positions the Astros could target around the trade deadline if they were looking to add pieces to this roster.

Many names have also been floated as targets they could look to acquire.