Prior to the MLB trade deadline, the general manager of the Houston Astros has revealed ambitious aspirations.

Early in the season, the Houston Astros were among the weakest teams in baseball, which led to trade rumors in Major League Baseball involving All-Star players like Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman. With a strong comeback to playoff contention and a significant shift in the team’s plans at the MLB trade deadline, Houston has had no issues this summer.

Houston had a 25-33 record at the end of May, which put them close to the bottom of the MLB standings. With a 27-14 record going into today’s MLB games, the Astros currently own the best record in baseball since June 1. It has not only propelled them back to the top of the AL West but also back into the MLB playoff picture.

In Houston, there is no shortage of credit. The pitching staff had a 3.55 ERA over that 41-game span and kept opponents to a.224 batting average, which was second in MLB. The Astros lineup, which is slashing.265/.319/.438 with the fifth-most runs scored (216) since June, has undoubtedly been a major factor in the turnaround.

The Astros are aware that they still have a lot of opportunity to grow. This season, the Astros rotation has suffered several setbacks, as Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez have both missed a considerable amount of time due to injury. Furthermore, this season has seen neither former starters Luis Garcia nor Lance McCullers Jr. throw a pitch.

Astros general manager Dana Brown stated that the team’s top priority is strengthening its starting rotation before pursuing big-name players during an appearance on MLB Network Radio. Should that fail to work out, Houston will target mid-level starters.

Brown also revealed there are multiple motivations behind Houston’s strong desire to land a reliable starter. With the aforementioned armed on the injured list and requiring significant time to recover and then build themselves back up, Houston could go to a six-man rotation at times.

As for potential Astros trade targets, there are obvious names if Houston is seriously committed to being aggressive. The Detroit Tigers have started discussing a Tarik Skubal trade and MLB trade rumors make it evident that Chicago White Sox’ ace Garrett Crochet is very available.

With that said, the Astros top prospects likely aren’t good enough to win a bidding war against clubs like the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. As a result, Houston will likely have to pivot to second and third-tier pitching options.

Based on the starting pitchers leaked in MLB rumors, Houston will likely have to focus on starters like Frankie Montas (Cincinnati Reds), Tyler Anderson (Los Angeles Angels), Jack Flaherty (Detroit Tigers) and Erick Fedde (Chicago White Sox). Fortunately for Houston, there are more than enough starting pitchers available for trade so it will just come down to where they find the most value.