Diamondbacks Trade Ace Zack Greinke to Astros

The Houston Astros were already considered one of the best teams in the American League heading into the trade deadline. Then they made a few moves that might vault them into position as the team to beat. The biggest of these moves was landing Zack Greinke from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Greinke has had a solid year thus far, and will fit in fine with a rotation that already features a true ace in Justin Verlander, a good pitcher in Gerrit Cole and another pair of deadline acquisitions in Aaron Sanchez and Joe Biagini (who may work out of the bullpen). Here’s what they sent Arizona:

Greinke’s presence gives Houston a rotation that rivals any other in the A.L. He’s 10-4 with a 2.87 ERA this year. Greinke’s biggest issues are his massive contract (he’ll be making north of $30 million the next two years) and his notable playoff struggles. The Astros clearly hope having Greinke as a secondary option instead of the No. 1 guy will allow him to flourish. Their extremely dangerous offense will no doubt help matters as well.

This Astros team is hungry for another World Series title.