OPINION: Houston Astros Will be Just Fine Without Justin Verlander

Justin Verlander agreed to a two-year, $86 million contract with the New York Mets. The Houston Astros should not take a significant hit in 2022 without the reigning American League Cy Young, Jack Vita writes.

Earlier this week, the Houston Astros said goodbye to the 2022 American League Cy Young and a staple of their pitching rotation for the past five and a half years, Justin Verlander.

Verlander, 39, agreed to a two-year, $86 million contract with the New York Mets.

Verlander put together his finest season in 2022 and is showing no signs of letting up. So why did the Astros let him walk?

The Astros have a deeper pitching staff than perhaps any other team in Major League Baseball. The depth of their rotation gave the club a significant edge in the World Series over the Philadelphia Phillies, and in my opinion, played a determining factor in the series.

Houston's next-man-up mentality will continue in 2023. The club improved by 11 games in 2022, after letting star shortstop Carlos Correa walk as a free agent. The Astros replaced Correa internally with young prospect Jeremy Pena, who would go on to win the 2022 World Series MVP Award.

The Astros could add a veteran pitcher via trade or the free agent market, but it seems likely that they'll once again look to their loaded farm system for a replacement to Verlander.

Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier and Lance McCullers Jr. will remain at the top of the rotation. Jose Urquidy and Luis Garcia can fill out the remainder of the rotation, but one pitcher could be the odd man out.

The Astros' best prospect Hunter Brown, who got a sniff of the big leagues down the stretch of 2022, could be in line for a promotion to the club's rotation in 2023.

In seven appearances and 20.1 innings in his premier big league season, Brown was electric, allowing just two runs, 15 hits and seven walks to the tune of a 0.89 ERA and 1.08 WHIP.

Brown excelled as a starter at Triple-A Sugar Land in 2022. The Astros could develop yet another lights-out starter, that could have the highest upside among all young pitchers on the roster.

If Brown isn't ready to step into a rotational role, Garcia and Urquidy will do just fine.

The Astros might be the only team in baseball to lose a reigning Cy Young without taking a significant hit.

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