The Houston Astros are considering bringing back veteran pitcher Justin Verlander for a third stint amid their need for starting pitching depth this offseason. Verlander, who turns 43 in February, had a solid second half with the San Francisco Giants after signing a one-year deal. His past success in Houston makes him an appealing option as the team faces potential losses in their rotation.
Houston's starting rotation faces significant challenges heading into the offseason, with the Astros expected to lose left-hander Framber Valdez to free agency after he led the team with 192 innings pitched last season. General manager Dana Brown emphasized the need for depth, stating, “Right now, we didn’t sign Framber, and we’ve got to fill those innings.” Brown added, “We’ve got Hunter Brown at the top, and we feel good about Javier and his emergence last year coming off the injury. He was up to 96 [mph], so we feel good about him coming to Spring Training. Arrighetti is having a very productive offseason, so we feel good about him. … We do need to create a little more depth and solidify the back half of the rotation.”
Cristian Javier returned from Tommy John surgery to make eight starts with a 4.62 ERA, while Spencer Arrighetti pitched just 35 1/3 innings due to a fractured right thumb and later right elbow inflammation, posting a 5.26 ERA in five starts after returning on Aug. 6. The team also lost Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski, and Brandon Walter to Tommy John surgery, and Luis Garcia will miss time after a second such procedure.
Enter Justin Verlander, a 20-year veteran who thrived in Houston from 2017 to 2023, going 73-28 with a 2.71 ERA in 130 starts. During that span, he won two World Series titles (2017, 2022), two AL Cy Young Awards (2019, 2022), pitched his third no-hitter, and reached 3,000 strikeouts. Acquired from the Detroit Tigers at the end of 2017 and from the New York Mets at the 2023 Trade Deadline, Verlander is 34 wins shy of 300.
Last season with the Giants, Verlander made 29 starts, throwing 152 innings with a 4-11 record and 3.85 ERA on a one-year, $15 million deal. He struggled early (0-7, 4.70 ERA in 15 starts) due to a right pectoral strain but rebounded post-All-Star break (4-4, 2.99 ERA in 14 starts), including a 1.96 ERA in his final seven outings. Reflecting on his season, Verlander said, “I think if I can go out and make 29, 30-plus starts and give our team a chance to win for a few more years, then it’s possible. … Maybe this year was meant to be kind of for health and kind of re-finding myself and getting used to taking the ball every five, six days and just kind of going out there and being able to log some innings. Maybe that will carry me where I need to go.”
The Astros are also adding depth with a flyer on 29-year-old right-hander Nate Pearson, alongside Colton Gordon, Jason Alexander, Lance McCullers Jr., and prospect AJ Blubaugh (No. 16 per MLB Pipeline). Brown noted at the GM Meetings in Las Vegas, “We’ll try to go for the cream of the crop, but it doesn’t always work.”