Eyes still being kept on arms
Addition of high-end starter could counter rotation contracts expiring within 2 years
As they construct their roster for their title defense in 2018, the Astros also must consider 2019 and beyond.
Of their six best returning starting pitchers, only two (Lance McCullers Jr. and Brad Peacock) are under contract for more than two seasons.
This is why the Astros are “actively pursuing a high-end starter,” as team owner Jim Crane told reporters Monday. And while such a comment is certainly notable, it also reiterated what was known. Little, if anything has changed since last month, when Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow spoke at baseball’s winter meetings of potential upgrades the team could explore.
“I think the reality is if we’re going to improve our rotation, it’s going to have to be somebody that’s better than what we have, and we’ve got a pretty good rotation penciled out for next year,” Luhnow said Dec. 11, the first day of the an-
nual meetings. “So we’re not going to be looking at fourth and fifth starters. We’re probably looking at something north of that.”
Among the pool of free agents, the overwhelming majority of whom remain unsigned with only five weeks until spring training, Yu Darvish and Jake Arrieta are far and away the best starters.
The Astros have been linked to both righthanders but much more so to Darvish, who met with the reigning champions among other teams last month.
Whether the Astros’ pursuits end with an acquisition before spring training remains to be seen. And if they don’t land a “high-end” starter this winter, they could dip back into the market in July before the non-waiver trade deadline or next offseason.
But any such addition this winter would be made with the future in mind. Dallas Keuchel and Charlie Morton will be free agents after the 2018 season. Justin Verlander and Collin McHugh will be free agents after the 2019 season. The Astros will have spots to fill in coming years regardless of how quickly top prospect Forrest Whitley reaches the majors.
No acquisitions by the Astros appeared imminent as of Monday, though. The slowest offseason in recent memory should pick up this week and next, but teams will also spend a significant amount of time this week preparing to exchange salary figures for their arbitration-eligible players Friday.
The cold stove might persist a bit longer.
The Astros will also continue to explore possible trades, though their farm system isn’t as highly regarded as in previous offseasons, especially if they’re unwilling to part with Whitley or highly touted outfield prospect Kyle Tucker.
Yahoo Sports reported Monday the Astros had engaged in trade talks with the Pittsburgh Pirates regarding righthander Gerrit Cole but suggested a deal was unlikely without the inclusion of Whitley or Tucker. The Pirates have Cole, 27, for two more seasons before he’s set to become a free agent.
Chris Archer of the Tampa Bay Rays and Danny Duffy of the Kansas City Royals are other starters who have been speculated about this winter as potential trade chips.
Others will inevitably emerge, if not before spring training then during the season, and because of Keuchel and Morton’s looming free agency, the Astros will probably be linked to them, too.
Even if they don’t make another move, the Astros are set to go into the 2018 season with one of baseball’s best rotations: Verlander, Keuchel, McCullers, Morton and McHugh or Peacock, if all are healthy come late March.
Signing Darvish or Arrieta would strengthen a strength for the reigning champs in the short term but more pertinently fill one of the potentially vacated spots for 2019 and beyond.