3 trades Astros need to make after losing in ALCS

1. Trade some young pitchers to acquire a frontline starter

The Astros were counting on some relative unknowns to pick up the slack behind Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke after Gerrit Cole’s departure, and those unknowns made names for themselves. Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, and Jose Urquidy, a trio that features two rookies, posted ERAs of 3.57, 3.48, and 2.73, respectively. As tempting as it may be to slot them into the rotation for the next few years, this staff needs a shot in the arm, and that could come from parting ways with some of them in an earth-shattering trade.

Verlander is 37 and coming off of a major arm injury, Greinke is about to be 37 and coming off of a bit of a down season, and Lance McCullers started to slip up in the postseason. While one of the Valdez-Javier-Urquidy combination might be worth keeping around for the long run, the odds of all three of them reaching stardom are almost infinitesimal. Sending a few of them in a care package for a frontline starter that could help them in the short and long term is the best way to prevent the dynasty from dying out.