The Houston Astros find themselves in an interesting position this offseason.
They are clearly still a contender in the American League and to win another World Series title with how their roster is currently constructed.
The Astros are loaded with stars from Jose Altuve to Alex Bregman to Yordan Alvarez to Kyle Tucker. Their rotation has top-end arms with Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander. Last year’s rookies also proved to be Major League ready as Yainer Diaz, J.P. France and Hunter Brown produced in large roles.
Because of that, it seems like Houston’s owner Jim Crane is comfortable standing pat with their current roster and is not willing to spend more money to increase their payroll.
While it’s true that they do have a contending roster, the Astros could also be sitting around watching other teams around them get better.
After all, the Texas Rangers eliminated them from the playoffs en route to their first World Series championship and are viewed as major players in free agency to add even more talent.
General manager Dana Brown shared what positions they are targeting this offseason, but also had an interesting quote about starting pitcher they have been rumored to be searching for.
“I think we’re good enough to get back to the postseason with the current rotation, but I’m not being closed-minded to if a starter falls into our lap and we can make it fit financially, I could be interested,” he told Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
What that means is pretty vague.
Reading between the lines a bit, it seems unlikely that they’ll be pursuing high-end starting pitchers on the open market. Any of those types of players would certainly not fit their budget.
Fall into their lap could suggest a trade.
There are plenty of star players who seem to be on the trade block this offseason and Houston could potentially make a deal
