Future Hall of Famer Could Bolster Rotation for Houston Astros

Should the Houston Astros look to add a future Hall of Famer to their rotation?

Jul 30, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Max Scherzer (31) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the second inning at Busch Stadium. / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros have had a very busy offseason thus far, and the hope is that they have done enough to stay a contender.

There has arguably been no team in baseball that has undergone as many significant changes as the Astros this offseason. So far, Houston has traded Kyle Tucker and saw both Justin Verlander and Yusei Kikuchi leave in free agency.

In addition to those three already leaving, it also seems extremely likely that Alex Bregman is going to be playing elsewhere next year.  

However, while the Astros may have lost a lot, they have also brought in some good players like Christian Walker and the package from the Tucker trade.

When looking at Houston heading into 2025, the strength of the team is likely going to be their starting rotation despite losing two starters from last year.

At the top of the rotation, Framber Valdez will be the ace of the staff once again. The southpaw was rumored to potentially be available as well as Tucker, but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.

In addition to Valdez as the anchor of the staff, they have a couple of up-and-coming arms in Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti. Right-hander Ronel Blanco also had his breakout season in 2024 but is a bit older than the other two.

After those three, it’s a bit murky. Newly acquired Hayden Wesneski could fill the role, but he is fairly inexperienced. Also, they have three arms who could potentially pitch in 2025 coming off injury in Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia, and Lance McCullers Jr.

However, despite what is seemingly a plethora of potential arms, the Astros know from 2024 that even a deep rotation can be tested by injuries.

With starting pitching not being a need, but potentially a want for insurance and depth purposes, an intriguing pitcher for them could be Max Scherzer.

Like the recently signed Verlander, Scherzer’s best days are likely behind him, but he can still contribute if healthy. While he only pitched 43 innings in 2024, the right-hander did have an ERA of 3.95, which is pretty solid.

By no means would he be asked to be a key part of the rotation for Houston, but he could be an appealing one if the price is right. Having a veteran like Scherzer on a team that is looking to contend and still has a lot of young developing arms could be valuable as well.

While there are certainly teams with more pressing needs in their rotation, the Astros might be a team to keep an eye on to add a veteran.