Seattle Mariners v Houston Astros | Kenneth Richmond/GettyImages
The Houston Astros jumping the market and signing former first round pick Nate Pearson to a Major League deal with the plan of converting him to a starting pitcher may turn out to be a telling indicator for the offseason ahead. The idea that the Astros aren’t prioritizing a return of Framber Valdez isn’t earth-shattering news, but how they plan to replace Valdez might be pretty telling of their current situation.
It’s quite the offseason to be in need of starting pitching. Beyond Valdez, other tempting names such as Dylan Cease, Ranger Suarez, and Michael King are on the free-agent market. Through the trade market, the Astros may not have the prospects to get Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers (or Hunter Greene for similar reasons), but they could poach Freddy Peralta away from the Milwaukee Brewers.
All suitable options to replace Valdez, and that doesn’t appear to be the direction the Astros are headed. The Athletic’s Chandler Rome did an outlook of the Astros’ offseason, and suggested that Houston plans to replace their former ace with depth options.
Astros have a plan to replace Framber Valdez, but it’s not one that suggests they are all-in for 2026
Rome points to Pearson as one of the options, and if the Astros can fix him, a high ceiling can still be seen if one were to squint. Another signing, of the minor-league variety, that may have gone unnoticed was the Astros bringing in former Colorado Rockies’ second-round pick Peter Lambert. Lambert spent the 2025 season in Japan, posting an ERA of 3.98 in a tick over 124 innings pitched.
As with Pearson, Lambert was once a promising pitching prospect, but injuries and ineffectiveness have stunted his development at the Major League level.
Every team should be willing to make these gambles, and to the Astros’ credit, they have quite a reputation for fixing pitchers. Unfortunately, depth options that need to be fixed aren’t a serious solution to replacing Valdez. If the Astros want to return to the playoffs in 2026 after last September’s collapse, they need to find a legitimate replacement for the loss they have at the top of their rotation. Otherwise, 2026 may quietly be a reset yet for the front office.
