What's Next For Houston Astros After Franchise Legend Joins New Team?

The Houston Astros are now officially without a franchise legend, but do they need to do anything to replace him?

Sep 20, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander (35) walks off the field after a pitching change in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Minute Maid Park. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The door was officially closed on a reunion with a Houston Astros franchise legend on Tuesday night.

Future Hall of Fame pitcher Justin Verlander agreed to a one-year, $15 million deal with the San Francisco Giants, ending his second stint with the Astros after a career-worst campaign.

The 41-year-old battled injuries throughout 2024 and never really got to get a groove going. When he was healthy, he was getting drilled with a 5.48 ERA over 90.1 innings of work.

Despite the struggles, there had been reports that Houston could still be interested in bringing him back to bolster the bottom half of their rotation.

With this being the likely official end of Verlander's time in an Astros uniform, he still had an incredible career with the team.

He won two of his three Cy Young Awards and both of his World Series rings with the franchise. Over seven seasons, he posted an incredible 2.71 ERA and 0.918 WHIP.

While it would have been nice to see him return and close the book with a comeback season, Houston should be fine without having him in the mix.

This what a potential Astros starting rotation could look like to start next year, if they don't make any more moves:

1. Framber Valdez
2. Hunter Brown
3. Ronel Blanco
4. Spencer Arrighetti
5. Hayden Wesneski

Some would already consider that staff to be in the top half of the league, but there are still some concerns that could be raised about the bottom half.

Arrighetti looked as good as any pitcher on that list at certain points, but is still unproven and can't really be called a consistent presence.

Wesneski is another interesting arm, but has a career 4.21 ERA over 22 starts. With his bullpen outings included, that number drops to 3.93.

The most likely outcome is that they don't make any major signings and this is what the group looks like going into the year.

If they are unhappy with results early, perhaps they make a trade or hope one of their many injured pitchers can get healthy and provide a boost.

Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr. and J.P. France are all at least quality starting pitchers who ended last year on the injured reserve and won't return before the start of the season.

Houston was able to piecemeal together a top pitching staff over the second half of last year even with Verlander struggling, so they should be in good shape without him.