I can’t help but feel for Dusty Baker, who essentially pleaded throughout his entire tenure with the Astros for at least one quality left-handed reliever. There were instances when the bullpen was entirely right-handed, with a southpaw option eventually added through waivers or trades. Only two lefties threw more than 20 innings in a single season during Baker’s time as manager, Brooks Raley and Blake Taylor, both in 2021. Houston was, in fact, dead last in innings pitched by left-handed relievers among all teams from 2020 through 2023 with 234 frames.
Joe Espada, on the other hand, has more left-handed options at his disposal compared to his predecessor. Josh Hader certainly skews that viewpoint, but Dana Brown has proactively addressed that area of the depth chart in recent years with other additions. Bennett Sousa was a waiver claim acquisition late in 2023 and has certainly pitched himself into a fairly reliable leverage role thus far in 2025, following a missed season last year. Bryan King and Steven Okert were also terrific finds through the Minor League Rule V draft and free agency in recent years. For a team that was noticeably reliant on an almost entirely right-handed bullpen for multiple seasons, it is interesting to see they’re possibly too dependent upon left-handers.
Handedness, up to a certain point, doesn’t matter as long as outs are generated. After all, the Astros have been among the best teams in baseball for years, with sometimes little value gleaned from the southpaws in their bullpen. But having more balance in a bullpen isn’t a bad thing, especially in high-leverage situations featuring multiple right-handed hitters. It would be beneficial for the team to find another reliable right-handed option in those situations, if only to help alleviate the workload for Bryan Abreu. Opposing managers realize that aspect of Houston’s roster constraints, and while it isn’t necessarily an outright weakness, it is a wrinkle in strategy to monitor.
At this moment, Abreu is the only reliable right-handed option in the bullpen. He is only four innings (44 1⁄3 IP) off the pace of his innings total at this point last season (48 1⁄3 IP). Preserving his arm for any late-season and possible postseason push could pay dividends. There are strong arguments to be made to upgrade other areas of the roster, notably the lineup and possibly the starting rotation. But considering the current state of the farm system, in addition to the competition for more premium positions in the trade market, it could behoove Brown and the front office to explore fortifying the bullpen with another right-hander for a lesser cost.
Who could the Astros target? That’s a good question. Frankly, I don’t have much of an idea at the moment. I am encouraged by how this organization continues to identify pitchers who improve under the guidance of its pitching development staff. However, there will certainly be pitchers available by the trade deadline who could fit the organization’s values. It’ll be interesting to see if they take any action about it, though.