It’s becoming clear as the days go by that if the Giants want to give themselves a chance at their third championship in the last four seasons they need to find reinforcements, and fast.

Injuries and ineffectiveness have cut the legs out of what seemed to be a solid team that had a better than average chance of winning the NL West. While the team has multiple needs, the most glaring is in the once-vaunted starting rotation which has gone from strength to weakness in the span of three months.

Last month I floated the idea of trading for Cliff Lee, which while a nice thought, would simply cost the Giants too much in terms of prospects to make that a palatable idea in my opinion.

That brings me to the Houston Astros (my new favorite team in the junior circuit) and their 28-year-old right-hander, Bud Norris. Norris, a native of Novato, has been in the big leagues since mid-2009 and while his numbers over that span don’t wow you, he has proven to be a solid back-of-the-rotation stater despite being asked to be the ace of a truly terrible Astros team. To me, Norris should be right up at the top of the Giants’ and Brian Sabean’s shopping list come the trade deadline.

The negatives with Norris have been his propensity for walking people (career 3.67 BB/9) and giving up the long ball (10.8% HR/FB rate). The positives when looking at Norris are his ability to miss bats (career 8.47 K/9) and the fact that he can induce plenty of ground balls (career 40.4% Ground Ball rate).

This year Norris has undergone a bit of a reversal in his career trends as he’s not striking out nearly as many hitters (6.17 K/9), but has cut down on the walks (2.83 BB/9) and home runs allowed (5.7% HR/FB rate). So what do we make of the “new” Bud Norris? You could argue that with age and experience he has simply learned how to pitch to contact better and not challenge so many hitters over the heart of the plate with fastballs, and the numbers would certainly back that up.

A quick look at Norris’ FanGraphs page shows that each year since he’s been in the big leagues he has gotten hitters to swing at (O-Swing%) and make contact with (O-Contact%) more pitches out of the zone. In addition, Norris is getting ahead of hitters far more frequently in 2013 than he ever has, posting a 64.5% first-pitch strike percentage, compared to his career 58.2% mark.

All of this points to a pitcher who has benefited from consistent time in the big leagues and has learned his craft well. This is a very good sign when examining a 20-something pitcher because it shows he can make adjustments and is willing to put aside flashy strikeout numbers in favor of simply getting outs.

Now I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that this change in Norris’ profile has come over a pretty small sample size (15 starts, 89 IP), but I am still encouraged by what I see. In terms of stuff, Norris is primarily a fastball/slider guy, throwing those two pitches a combined 83.5% of the time this year. The fastball sits at a comfortable 90-92 mph and is relatively straight given Norris’ 6-foot frame. The slider is definitely his go-to pitch, showing good, late downward bite and he uses it liberally to both steal strike one and put hitters away. The change-up is just a show-me pitch to keep lefties honest, but looking at some of his starts this year (thanks MLB.tv!), it’s better than it has been in the past.

All in all, Norris is a prototypical fourth or fifth starter with just enough stuff to turn a lineup over a few times and one reliable out pitch when he gets into a jam. He’s relatively durable and reasonably cheap as he is arbitration-eligible but under team control until 2016. Basically he is an ideal candidate for the Giants rotation and I would not be shocked if he’s wearing Orange and Black at some point in July.

From a deal-making standpoint, we know the Astros are looking to move anyone with a name as they continue their total rebuild. GM Jeff Luhnow has done a masterful job restocking a once-barren farm system and while Norris is a solid starter, there is very little question that he is available.

If I were Brian Sabean I would be more than happy to move mid-level prospects like Mike Kickham, Ehire Adrianza or Ty Blach to acquire Norris, who would not only solidify the back end of a sputtering rotation, but also allow Bruce Bochy to slide either Chad Gaudin or Tim Lincecum into a bullpen that is also in need of an upgrade.

There is a lot of angst over whether or not the Giants need to find more offense after Angel Pagan re-injured himself last night on a rehab assignment. Not to mention the fact that Marco Scutaro has a finger that may fall off soon, Pablo Sandoval can’t stay off the DL for more than a few weeks at a time and Brandon Crawford dinged himself up sliding into second base the other night. In my opinion however, any move the Giants make needs to involve upgrading the starting rotation and Bud Norris would be a very sensible place to start.