Astros trade rumors: Monday's updates after the Jose Veras deal

Now that the first domino in Houston's trade discussions has fallen, let's take a look at the rest of the market and see what's happening.

The reliever market

It appears things are heating up here, as Jesse Crain is about to be moved, according to MLB Trade Rumors. That may be one reason why Houston struck when it did on Veras.

Oh, and the odds of Wesley Wright getting traded just plummeted down past five percent. The Braves got their lefty reliever, just not from the Astros, as Atlanta made a deal with the Angels for Scott Downs. Atlanta sent reliever Cory Rasmus to LA to complete the deal. Might there be other teams out there in on Wright? Sure, but it's less likely now than it was two days ago.

Oh, and the Padres joined the Rangers in exploring the relief market this season. San Diego has plenty of options in the bullpen to trade, which is maybe why Houston made the deal when it did. With all these other relievers flooding into the market at the last minute, it gave Detroit enough leverage to maybe drop Houston's asking price a bit.

Bud Norris rumors

Well, nothing is going on now. Joel Sherman gave us a quick update this morning after the Veras deal went down.

Just spoke to #Astros GM Jeff Luhnow. Says lots of conversations on Norris but "nothing close." Says that could change as deadline nears

— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) July 29, 2013

That's not surprising, as I still wouldn't be surprised if Norris is still an Astro at the end of this trade deadline. But, here's an interesting pie-in-the-sky name that's out there now.

Apparently, the Orioles are willing to talk about Dylan Bundy in a deal. I'm guessing Bud Norris and Erik Bedard don't qualify, but wouldn't that be an attractive piece to add? Even with the Tommy John surgery, Bundy would move right to the top of Houston's rebuilding efforts.

Again, this is all wishful thinking, as I'm not sure Bud Norris gets that kind of return. But, with Jeff Luhnow, you never know.

In the disappointing news department for Bud, Dave Cameron does a pretty good job of ripping up his credentials in any possible trade over at ESPN Insider. It's not pretty. But there's also not a ton to quibble with, which makes me sad.

More from Crawfish Boxes:

• Who will be Houston's next closer?
• Astros create closer, flip closer, rinse, repeat
• Astros Trade Jose Veras to Detroit
• Diagnosing Houston's bullpen for preventative measures
• Hangin' With TCB: Spencer Pimpin The Crawfish Shirt