Needing immediate bullpen depth and flexibility, the Houston Astros were able to wrangle a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers, July 25, obtaining right-handed reliever Andre Scrubb.

Having designated Tyler White for assignment July 19, the deal allowed the Astros to get something in return for the home-grown first baseman whose hitting had deteriorated to a .225/.320/.330 slash line in 253 plate appearances in 2019. White, out of minor league options, was a 33rd-round draft pick in 2013 for Houston out of Western Carolina University.

Astros fans won’t embrace the similar DFA assignment for Tony Kemp, slated for Friday to make roster room for shortstop Carlos Correa, returning from being on the shelf for two months with a rib injury. The popular “Hugs for Homers” outfielder/second baseman, also without options, will now be shopped in hopes of bringing more pitching help to Houston.

The 24-year-old newlywed Scrubb (married in January) was 6-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 47.2 innings for the Dodgers’ AA Tulsa Drillers. Scrubb is almost exclusively a reliever, making 29 appearances this season, 27 out of the bullpen.

Curiously, the Dodgers are currently in the market for a reliever before the July 31 trade deadline, but will find White’s six Houston relief appearances in three years to be irrelevant, as they were all in blowout situations in what was little more than, uh… scrub work. They will enjoy, however, White’s infield flexibility and a bat they hope will be reborn going forward.

In his three years in the Dodgers’ system, Scrubb has appeared in 108 games, and can boast a 21-6 record, with a combined ERA of 2.37. In 175 innings, he’s logged 201 strikeouts and given up 95 walks and 124 hits, with a 1.25 WHIP.

Scrubb was the Dodgers’ 50th-ranked prospect this season according to Prospects 1500.

Andre Darrell Scrubb, one of six siblings, grew up a New York Mets fan in Woodbridge, Virginia, and still makes his home there. He went to CD Hylton High School, where he was a four-year letter winner, before attending High Point University in High Point, North Carolina.

Scrubb’s three-year collegiate career reflects a 4.28 ERA with 16 wins over 187 innings pitched. He struck out 187 while struggling with control, walking 114.

While a starter for two of his three years at High Point, Scrubb has been groomed as a bullpen piece throughout the Dodgers’ system. He even tried his hand at closing games in 2018 for two of the Los Angeles Class A teams, earning saves in five of seven opportunities, as well as a spot on the Midwest League All-Star team.

Los Angeles drafted Scrubb in the eighth round of the draft in 2016, the same year the Astros nabbed the just-signed Cuban slugger Yordan Alvarez off the Dodgers in exchange for journeyman pitcher Josh Fields.

A gentle giant at a sturdy 6’4″ and 265 pounds, Scrubb has a softspoken, easygoing style and is always ready to flash an infectious, gap-toothed grin.

While his fastball velocity was still a work in progress as recently as two Spring Trainings ago, Scrubb’s curve is his bread and butter, and he’s comfortable throwing it in high leverage situations and in any count. A shortened and consistent arm slot has been an area of improvement with Dodgers coaches the past couple of years, as well.

“I think everyone in the stands knows it’s coming,” Scrubb described his curveball anticipation to ThinkBlueLA six months after being drafted. “But I try to throw it low and as hard as I can so it looks like a fastball, so it really helps out getting hitters to swing and miss.”

He possesses a lively arm with a mid-90s fastball, now, that touches 98 mph. He pairs it with his high-70s-to-low-80s “slurvy” curve that gets swings and misses.

Scrubb is Rule 5 Draft eligible this offseason, so Houston will have to add him to the 40-man roster by the December deadline in order to protect him. This may be why the Dodgers found him easily expendable.

Scrubb will report to Houston’s AA Corpus Christi Hooks.