Here are a few phone calls the Astros should make

Josh Hader, formerly of the San Diego Padres (Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

Estimated Tax Payroll: $192.240M

2024 financial commitments: $154.533MM

Total future commitments: $366.533MM

The Houston Astros have been to seven straight ALCS series, with World Series championships in both 2017 and 2022. Their reign of success has been impressive and tenacious, but now their franchise faces a potential cliff in the next few years. The punishment for their sign stealing practices have caught up to them, as the 1st and 2nd round picks from 2020 and 2021 may have added to a farm system that now stands as one of the worst in the league. Adding to the pervasive lack of impact prospects is the trade of Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford in the Justin Verlander deadline deal. The farm system also graduated Hunter Brown and Yainer Diaz, leaving the org with arguably zero projected regular day players or impact starting pitching. Knowing this, the Verlander trade makes sense as GM Dana Brown looks to milk 2-3 more competitive seasons out of this roster before the inevitable restructuring and rebuild begins. A potential natural line in the sand is Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman both hitting the open market after the 2024 season, so Brown has no small task to keep the party going. To add to the stakes, the Astros also have a rookie manager in Joe Espada, who had been the Astros bench coach since 2018 as Alex Cora’s replacement. Now he takes over for Dusty Baker as skipper, and faces immediate pressure to bring an 8th straight ALCS appearance to Houston.

Yainer Diaz’s breakout campaign solved a huge problem at catcher for Dana Brown and the Astros. Yainer flashed a 1.90 pop time, while also ranking in the 90th percentile in blocking and throwing out 30% of baserunners (league average is 21%). On the offensive side, Diaz hit .282 with 23 HR, and his expected stats were even better. He ranked in the 96th percentile with a .546 xSLG, while also flashing a 12.2% barrel rate. They have Cesar Salazar as the backup catcher right now, but I would think they will add another catcher with MLB experience. They don’t need an impact signing here with the way Diaz played this year, but I wouldn’t rule out Maldonado returning for 2024. Salazar is a capable defensive catcher, but hasn’t had any hitting success above AA ball. The argument for Maldonado has more to do with the relationships Martin has with the pitching staff and the rest of the club. If he goes elsewhere, I expect Houston to look at a veteran like Jacob Stallings that can catch every third day or so.

Potential fits for backup catcher: Martin Maldonado, Jacob Stallings, Austin Nola

The Astros are entering year two of the Jose Abreu deal, and it doesn’t look great. The former MVP was one of the worst players in the league last year, before hitting .295/ .354/.591 and bouncing back in the big way. More than likely, Abreu’s 2024 will be somewhere between that performance and the .295 wOBA we saw in the regular season. Even if he does rebound, the Astros need a left handed power bat to spell Abreu and rest him a few days a week. Fortunately, there are several cheap options for left handed power bats at first base this year. One guy I like is Daniel Vogelbach, who has posted above average offensive numbers in three consecutive seasons. Jon Singleton was supposed to be the best left handed option, but unfortunately didn’t flash much production in his callup (.244 wOBA).

Potential fits for left handed power bat: Daniel Vogelbach, Rowdy Tellez, Mike Ford, Joey Votto

Lastly, the Houston Astros lost three relievers in a bullpen that ranked 6th in the MLB in 2023. Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek, and Hector Neris are all free agents, leaving significant holes for a group that helped propel their club to another ALCS. Other core guys like Pressely and Abreu will be returning, but the aforementioned three guys threw almost 190 innings combined in the regular season and combined for a 2.83 ERA in 2023. Reunions for any of them could work at the right price, but I expect Neris to be expensive based on both his 2023 results and the fact that he declined an $8.5M option for 2024. Another major focus here for Dana Brown and co. should be a left handed reliever. They aren’t losing one this offseason, but they could have used one last postseason, and Josh Hader is available right now, as are Brent Suter and Aroldis Chapman. The market for right handers is a bit thinner, but guys like David Robertson, Adam Ottavino, Craig Kimbrel are available. The Astros should be penning at least two guys to deals this offseason in the stable, preferably three with one of them being left handed. I’d like to see either the Texas Rangers or Houston bring in Josh Hader.

Potential fits for Houston’s bullpen: Ryne Stanek, Phil Maton, Josh Hader, Brent Suter, Adam Ottavino, David Robertson, Robert Stephenson