Astros' top trade candidate amid brutal start is 14.73 ERA reliever

Astros' top trade candidate amid brutal start is 14.73 ERA reliever originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

There are a ton of top contenders who are off to rough starts to the season. The Philadelphia Phillies are struggling a lot lately, while the New York Mets are on an 11-game losing streak. But the Houston Astros might be the worst of them all.

Dana Browns' squad is 8-13 to begin the season, but more concerning is the plethora of injuries all across the roster, including to key players on offense and the pitching staff. Selling at the trade deadline seems very much in play at this rate.

And if they do sell off some of their players, ESPN's David Schoenfield identified their most likely trade candidate in reliever Bryan Abreu, who would need to improve upon his brutal 14.73 ERA start to the year if the Astros want anything decent in return.

Astros' top trade candidate is Bryan Abreu

"Trade candidate: Bryan Abreu (FA)," Schoenfield writes. "Including Abreu here is contingent on the reliever figuring things out. He has been unable to throw strikes - and when he does, he has given up the long ball, with four home runs in just seven-plus innings."

The Astros' looking to move on from their veterans at the trade deadline is very much a possibility. They've gotten off to a bad start this season, and with their injuries to blame, things might not be getting any better.

If they do end up trading away players at the deadline, there will be plenty of attention on and . But Abreu might be one of the more obvious trade candidates this season.