Houston Astros Not Expected to Re-Sign Coveted Pitcher in MLB Free Agency

The Houston Astros could lose out on one of their best pitchers down the stretch.

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The Houston Astros just suffered their earliest exit in a postseason since 2016 as their incredible streak of seven consecutive ALCS appearances came to an end at the hands of the Detroit Tigers in the Wild Card round.

Now tasked with the goal of getting better this winter and figuring out how to reclaim their place on top of the American League, the focus turns to free agency for Houston, both with outside additions as well as who to keep and who to let walk. Understandably, the Astros offseason plans and budget revolve around whatever happens with franchise cornerstone third baseman Alex Bregman, but Bregman is not the only free agent on the team.

After acquiring Yusei Kikuchi at the trade deadline from the Toronto Blue Jays, Kikuchi did himself a massive favor by looking the part of an ace over his 10 starts in Houston. Now set to hit the open market, there is no question that Kikuchi has earned himself many millions more with the hot finish for the Astros after a rough start to the season.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post predicts the six-year veteran to land a four-year, $68 million deal and thinks he will likely end up somewhere that is not Houston.

"Huge second half in Houston is triggering a very big market after a weak start in Toronto," Heyman wrote. "The Astros are trying, but he seems more likely to wind up elsewhere."

The six-year veteran went 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA and 76 strikeouts over 60 innings pitched in Houston after posting a 4.75 ERA over his 22 starts in Toronto to begin the year.

Over the course of his career, the 4.75 number is a whole lot closer to the type of pitcher that Kikuchi has been, and it's certainly possible if not likely that what he showed with the Astros was more of an outlier than an accurate representation of the caliber of pitcher that he is.

That's a gamble that other teams are going to be willing to take when the offers start rolling in for Kikuchi, but Houston would probably be better served spending their assets elsewhere rather than banking on continued domination from a pitcher that really has never been dominant over the course of his career.