Houston Astros: 3 replacements for Justin Verlander

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The Houston Astros might have a potential opening in their starting rotation following the news that Justin Verlander signed a contract with the New York Mets in free agency. This leaves Houston without an established ace or a long-term No.1 starter or does it?

Houston Astros: Three Replacements for Justin Verlander

I don’t care what team you are, it’s going to be hard to replace Verlander, especially considering he just won the CY Young award and had a 1.75 ERA over 28 games with 175 innings and 185 strikeouts. Those numbers just aren’t easily replaceable, but as the defending World Series champions, I’m sure they’ll do something to address their rotation.

The Astros have some potential in-house options like No.1 prospect Hunter Brown who had a cup of coffee with the Astros during September and the playoffs. However, it’s not always wise to just rely on unproven young pitchers if you’re trying to win right now. It can pay off, but when you have the ability to spend over 200+ million dollars, the Astros have plenty to spend on a free-agent starter.

No. 1 Replacement: Sign Ross Stripling

Ross Stripling doesn’t get near enough respect for how excellent he pitches, typically due to the fact that he starts and comes out of the bullpen. He’s excellent at either which fits the Astros. In the playoffs, they shrink their rotation and use their elite starters out of the pen. Having Stripling come out of the pen during a critical playoff moment isn’t fair at all. Yet, it would completely deepen their rotation and bullpen.

Stripling is coming off an excellent platform year with the Blue Jays where he appeared in 32 games, 24 starts, and even had a save. He threw 123.1 innings with 111 strikeouts and a 3.01 ERA. That ERA is backed up by the fact he allowed only 20 walks, 49 runs, a 129 ERA+, and a 3.11 FIP.

The 33-year-old was worth 2.7 WAR and with the Astros, he could improve upon his career-high numbers. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him potentially be an All-Star after working with the Astros pitching factory. Thanks to his age too, the length of the deal would likely be lower in terms of years which helps the Astros’ long-term payroll outlook.

Spotrac has his market value at over 17 million dollars, far cheaper than Verlander, leaving Houston with plenty of money to continue adding to their dominant team. This just feels like an Astros move by taking an ignored potential great starter and turning him into an elite pitcher.

No.2 Houston Astros sign former rival, Nathan Eovaldi

This would be another terrific signing by the champion Astros. Eovaldi is a flame-throwing starter that would add a ton of strikeout ability to their rotation. When healthy, he’s technically a strikeout master in recent years. Since 2019, he has had 420 strikeouts in 407.2 innings.

Last year, he had some injury issues, but still appeared in 20 games with 109.1 innings pitched, 103 strikeouts, and a 3.87 ERA. Throw him into the Astros pitching lab and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Eovaldi be another top-5 CY Young vote-getter.

The 33-year-old would be the perfect fit for the Astros rotation, providing a stable veteran front-of-the-rotation starter while not costing an insane amount of money. Plus, Eovaldi’s a proven playoff pitcher with a 3.14 ERA and 43 innings pitched over six playoff series. With the Astros seeking their 7th straight ALCS appearance, Eovaldi would certainly help there.

According to Spotrac, Eovaldi has a market value of 16.7 million dollars which is cheaper than Stripling and nearly three times cheaper than Verlander. In fact, the Astros could sign both Stripling and Eovaldi for nearly 10 million dollars less than Verlander (34.3 to 43). Maybe, they should do that.

Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports /

No.3 Houston Astros replacement: Do Nothing

That’s right, the Houston Astros could literally just sit back and do absolutely nothing. They would still have a top-10 rotation even without Verlander. Should their players take steps forward, it could even be top-5. We saw how dominant Framber Valdez is in 2022 during the regular season and postseason.

He went 17-6 with a 2.82 ERA, 201.1 innings, 194 strikeouts, 3.06 FIP, and three complete games with a shutout. He’s just a dominant pitcher that’s only 28. Valdez is ready to lead the rotation. Meanwhile, a 2-4 trio of Lance McCullers Jr., Luis Garcia, and Cristan Javier would be downright nasty. After all, Javier only had two combined No-Hitters last year. McCullers Jr. came back from an elbow injury looking like nothing changed. He had 50 stirkeouts in 47.2 innings with a 3.49 FIP and 2.27 ERA. Safe to say that he didn’t lose any skills during his rehab.

Garcia had 157.1 innings with 15 wins, 157 stirkeouts, and a 3.72 ERA. Plus, Javier had a 2.54 ERA with 148.2 innings, 194 strikeouts, and only 89 hits allowed. Throw in a quality No.5 pitcher in Jose Urquidy who quietly went 13-8 with a 3.94 ERA, 164.1 innings, 134 strikeouts, and only 38 walks. Although I think he’s better suited for the bullpen, the Astros have a ready made replacement for him in No.1 prospect Hunter Brown.

Over his seven games last year, including two starts, Brown went 2-0 with a 0.89 ERA, 20.1 innings, 22 strikeouts, and only seven walks. He was dominant in that tiny stretch and is only 23-years-old. Brown’s the hopeful No.1 ace pitcher of the future for the Astros. A top-100 prospect, Hunter Brown could be the latest elite starter that the Astros helped mold through their minor league system.

I don’t know of many teams that could beat a rotation whose highest ERA from 2022 was a mere 3.72 or 3.94 depending on if Urquidy is in the rotation. Perhaps, the Astros should use the Verlander savings to spend on an outfielder and catcher.

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