Houston Astros may now be in market for bullpen help

The Houston Astros bullpen appeared to be set heading into this offseason. One misstep during a workout may have changed those plans.

This offseason, most of the teams around the league were looking for bullpen help. Even those teams that were looking to trade a reliever or two were in the bullpen market, hoping to strengthen that area of the roster. For the Houston Astros, that was not expected to be the case, as their bullpen depth was quite enviable.

That is, until last week. Sidearming reliever Joe Smith ruptured his left Achilles tendon during an offseason workout. The injury necessitated surgery, which will cause Smith to be sidelined for the next six to eight months.

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Smith had a solid 2018 with Houston. In the first year of a two year contract with the Astros, he posted a 3.74 ERA and a 1.007 WHiP, striking out 46 batters against 12 walks in his 45 innings of work. Smith did show some chinks in the armor, allowing seven homers, but he was still a solid relief option.

His loss, even for the first few months of the 2019 campaign, leaves the Astros with a large hole in the bullpen. The duo of Roberto Osuna and Hector Rondon are an impressive 1-2 punch, but the Astros need to be able to bridge that gap to the eighth. Smith was an important part of that middle part of the bullpen.

While the Astros still have plenty of depth, this is a significant loss. Smith was expected to be a key part of the sixth and seventh inning mix, leaving Ryan Pressly and Will Harris as the main options. Chris Devenski could factor in as well, but he may be better served as the Astros fireman, coming in whenever needed to quell a rally.

Even with those options, a team can never have enough depth in the bullpen. This has been proven time and time again in the postseason, where those shorter starts can lead to a tremendous workload on the relievers. While the Astros have to hope that Smith can revert to form, they also need to look ahead.

The Houston Astros have lost Joe Smith for a portion of 2019. That loss may be enough to put them in the market for another bullpen arm.