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Astros Predicted to Land $18 Million Houston Native Before MLB Trade Deadline

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nate Lunak | Last updated Jul 21, 2025 1:29 PM ET

The Houston Astros have put together a strong 2025 season as of now, sitting in first place in the AL West with a 57-42 record while they look to make the playoffs for the ninth straight season.

Of course, this means that Houston is viewed by many as a team that's looking to add talent before the MLB trade deadline on July 31, and there are certainly several opportunities they could improve on.

One area in particular is starting pitching, and in an article for The Athletic, Chandler Rome predicts that the Astros will trade for Merrill Kelly from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

"They may not have enough prospect capital to land Merrill Kelly — a Houston native in the final year of his contract — but if owner Jim Crane covets a splashy name while contemplating whether to cross into the luxury tax, Kelly fits the bill," Rome wrote.

Kelly is having a solid season, starting 21 games for the Diamondbacks, accumulating 122 innings, a 3.32 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP and 118 strikeouts while allowing 45 earned runs, 92 hits and 13 home runs.

He would come in and join a starting pitching group that's already impressive for Houston, tied for ninth in ERA (3.84), ranked seventh in innings (538.2), second in strikeouts (562), sixth in WHIP (1.19) and tied for fifth in opponent batting average (.233).

It's also not as though Kelly would come in and need to be their ace, as he would likely slide in behind Hunter Brown, who, in 20 starts, has a 2.57 ERA and Framber Valdez, who sports a 2.75 ERA in 19 starts.

As mentioned by Rome, Kelly is also in the second season of his two-year $18 million deal with Arizona, meaning even if this trade did happen and things didn't work out with Houston, they wouldn't be tied to him long-term.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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