The Houston Astros are in the market for a starting pitcher at the trade deadline, but it won't be for this Miami Marlins struggling ace.

Astros beat writer Matt Kawahara answers readers' questions about Yordan Alvarez's status, the upcoming MLB trade deadline and other topics.

Forrest Whitley never established himself as reliable part of the Houston Astros ' pitching staff. Houston's former top prospect will now look to become a Major League mainstay with a different franchise after a trade early Friday afternoon.

Rays Make Trade With Astros After Shane McClanahan News originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Houston Astros enter Friday atop the American League West standings. Owning a 4.5 game lead over the second place Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Angels, the Astros look primed for another postseason appearance.

Back in 2018 and 2019, Whitley was the Astros' top prospect and was ranked inside the top ten overall. In 2022, Whitley dropped to fifth within the Astros organization, and in 2023, Whitley dropped out of the top 20 prospects in Houston.

With little cap space and an absence of touted prospects to deal, the trade deadline could be a challenge for Houston.

The Houston Astros lead their division, but have problems in their rotation. Joe Espada could use the opening to give one prospect a shot.

To fix that, and add a more dynamic pitcher and create a three-headed monster of a rotation, Dylan Sanders of Sports Illustrated predicted that the Astros could trade for Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale.