Now the Chris Sale is off the market, who else should the Astros target

The Houston Astros missed out on the Chris Sale sweepstakes as the Chicago White Sox traded him over to the Boston Red Sox.

With starting pitching still on the agenda, not landing Sale, doesn't mean the Astros are now out of options.

Sale might have been the goal for every team, but there are still plenty of top of the rotation starters still waiting for new homes.

Below are three "aces" general manager Jeff Luhnow and his staff should target.

1) Minnesota Twins right-hander Ervin Santana (33 years old)

Santana is still an above average pitcher plus he's under team control through 2019 making 14 million a year. When he's on his A-game he can lead a staff, but he's better off being a really good second or third starter.

Another good thing about Santana is that you certainly aren't giving up Lance McCullers or Alex Bregman. The Twins would probably return phone calls if you offered AAA outfielder Derek Fisher, right-hander Jandel Gustave and a player to be named later.

2) Oakland Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray (27 years old)

He had a down year last year, but since breaking into the majors he's been a stud, from 2013-2015 he had 2.88 ERA which was 10th best in baseball.

Gray is just now entering arbitration so he'll be under team control for a while so he's going to be costly. It won't cost you "untouchable" prospects, but major league middle infielder Tony Kemp and reliever Michael Feliz, plus A-ball outfielder Daz Cameron could be enough to make a deal.

3) Tampa Rays Chris Archer (28 years old)

Rumored to be moved this offseason, the only problem is reports say that the price tag for Archer is pretty high.

Archer has been a top pitcher in A.L., he's just been stuck on bad Rays team, in 2016 his ERA was just a touch over 4, but in years prior he's been on the cusp of being a dominant pitcher.

With Archer under control through the 2021 season, the Rays are probably holding out for a Sale like deal and If the Astros are to get involved this is where it might cost an "untouchable".

If you want Archer; Bregman or George Springer, AA third baseman J.D. Davis plus last years number one pick pitcher Forrest Whitley could be enough to start a dialog.

Options are out there for the Astros, it just depends on what is the price Luhnow is willing to pay, what is too high?

Bottom of the order big reason for 5-3 win over WhiteSox

The Astros winning ways continue with a 5-3 win over the WhiteSox. The Astros had a big night offensively getting 13 hits, and four hits from the back end of the lineup.

The 8-9 spots for the Astros came up big time and they were a big reason they were able to pull out their very first road series win.

Eight hitter Jason Castro in the second inning reached base with a one-out single. Nine hitter Tony Kemp would follow with his first major league hit, a double, moving Castro to third. Jose Altuve would drive in Castro with a ground out, and George Springer would end the inning with a hot liner to right field but not before the Astros took a 2-1 lead over the WhiteSox.

In the fourth inning, the bottom of the lineup came through big for the Astros again. Castro would draw a four-pitch walk, and Kemp would follow with his second hit of the night a one-out single. Altuve would drive in Castro again with a single to left giving the Astros a 3-1 lead. WhiteSox starter Matt Latos would regroup and get out of the inning putting away the next two guys in order.

The last run for the Astros would come in the sixth inning. Clearly feeling it Castro took the first pitch he saw from Latos and took it to deep right field for a solo shot putting them up 5-1.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Kemp drew a leadoff walk and Altuve followed with another walk. It started to look like they would come through again and score a few more runs. Springer would turn on the first pitch we saw and rocket a ball to Todd Frazier at third base and the WhiteSox would end up turning a triple-play.

"We can hit, we have a dangerous team, people underestimate a little bit of the quality at-bats we can put up there when we're right," Manager A.J. Hinch said via Root Sports, "we certainly have our struggles at times, but consistency is hard to find in this league."

The 8-9 hole (Castro and Kemp) for the Astros did its job with four hits, two walks, and three runs scored.

"Kemp had a good night at the bottom of the order sparking the top of he order," Hinch said, "Altuve had another good night which is commonplace, for the most part when we string together good at-bats and tonight we did it without the benefit of a crooked number in an inning, I like our offense."

Aside from the near miss at more runs in the eighth, the Astros would end up scoring one run in five different innings Wednesday night.

The pitching would do just enough to make the runs the offense gave them hold up. Starter Doug Fister gave the team six and a third innings only allowing three earned runs. He allowed nine hits, but when he was in a jam he was either able to get the strikeout he needed or the defense would make a nice play and pick him up.

"He throws quality strikes it moves in different directions there's not a lot of complaints when it comes to his time in the rotation," Hinch said of Fister's night, "you feel like your going to get 5-6-7 innings of good healthy hard work that gives you a good chance to win."

The Bullpen would come in and close the door on the WhiteSox. Luke Gregerson who has been a little shaky of late, blowing three of his last four save chances. On Wednesday Gregerson was back to his normal self sitting down the WhiteSox in order.

All and all a nice game by the Astros, one of the few nights this year they have been able to put it all together getting good pitching and good offense. When they are able to do that, they'll win more games than naught.