Astros reportedly reluctant to trade starter Brett Myers

While the focus has understandably been on Roy Oswalt, his rotation-mate Brett Myers is another good starting pitcher likely to be targeted by contenders before the trade deadline. Last night he tossed seven innings of one-run ball against the Cubs, marking the 20th time in 20 starts this season that Myers has logged at least six innings. In addition to the workload reliability he has a 3.24 ERA and 101/41 K/BB ratio in 136 innings overall and has just one fewer Quality Start than Oswalt. While not really a fly-ball pitcher Myers has struggled at times to keep the ball in the ballpark, serving up an average of 31 homers per 200 innings during eight seasons with the Phillies. However, he’s been able to keep the long balls in check since joining the Astros as a free agent this offseason and has a 4.33 ERA in 203 career starts. Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that the Astros are reluctant to trade Myers and “will need to be overwhelmed in order to move him” because they “hope that he could be a foundation for future rotations.” Which doesn’t really make sense, because he’ll be 30 years old next month and figures to choose free agency instead of the $8 million mutual option in his contract for 2011. As a veteran who’s increased his value significantly since signing a team-friendly one-year contract this offseason Myers is exactly the type of player the Astros should be looking to cash in for prospects that can actually be part of the long-term plans and Rosenthal notes that he’s “attracted interest from multiple clubs.”