Astros GM: We're missing 95-100 mph option in bullpen

Strengthening the bullpen looks to be the Houston Astros' top priority, and general manager Jeff Luhnow knows exactly what he's looking for.

"I absolutely have always been a proponent of different looks, and the construction last year was a reflection of that," he told Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. Luhnow listed Pat Neshek, Josh Fields, Will Harris, Chad Qualls, Luke Gregerson, Tony Sipp, and Oliver Perez to illustrate the team's diversity.

"We had a lot of different looks that once a starter was out, that the other side was going to get exposed to. The one look we were missing - which is why I talked about it in July - was the 95-100 mph look. It doesn't mean you can't be successful (without that look), because I think by and large we were successful."

The Astros are reportedly "hell-bent" on acquiring relief pitching in the offseason after an eighth-inning collapse in Game 4 of the American League Division Series and a poor September showed flaws in their bullpen.

Available relievers fitting the 95-100 mph description include free agents Mark Lowe, Tommy Hunter, Ryan Madson, and David Hernandez, but two more intriguing names could be available via trade in Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller, two of the game's hardest throwers.

FASTBALL VELOCITY

Houston's bullpen ERA of 3.27 was the seventh-best ERA mark in baseball, while holding opponents to a .220 batting average.