Deadline Prize

The Astros made the biggest trade deadline splash when they grabbed Zack Greinke from the D'backs. Amazingly, they did it without giving up their top prospect Kyle Tucker, who for the second year in a row is slugging his way through Triple A.

A huge talent (just a few wins shy of 200 for his career) with a huge paycheck, he slides in alongside Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole to give Houston a potentially dominating starting rotations.

Anyone facing the Astros in October has to figure out how to beat this trio three times in the ALDS or four times in a seven-game ALCS or World Series. Pair them with a lineup featuring Altuve, Bregman, Correia, Springer, Gurriel and the impressive rookie Yordan Alvarez and you can see why Las Vegas oddsmakers have now made Houston the favorite to win it all.

(My image of Greinke is from a D'backs/Mets game in May 2018.)

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