Houston Astros dream rotation after re-signing Justin Verlander

The Houston Astros were able to get a deal done with Justin Verlander. What will their starting rotation look like next season?

Justin Verlander is officially going back to the Houston Astros. After initially turning down Houston’s qualifying offer, the talented and experienced starting pitcher came to an agreement with the Astros.

That’s going to help Houston considerably. Verlander is a bit older at 38-years-old and he is coming back from Tommy John surgery, but if he’s healthy, he’s definitely one of the best pitchers in baseball.

So how does that impact Houston’s starting rotation?

Houston Astros sign Justin Verlander: What will Astros rotation look like in 2022?

If the Astros want to make another splash signing to replace Zack Greinke considerably improve their starting rotation, here’s what the ideal sort of situation for Houston would look like: making a deal with Marcus Stroman happen.

And here’s what that starting rotation would look like.

1. Justin Verlander
2. Marcus Stroman
3. Lance McCullers Jr.
4. Framber Valdez
5. José Urquidy

Of course, signing Stroman might just be a bit of a dream. That’s probably not all that realistic, and the Astros do have some other options available.

If the Astros want to just roll the dice on the arms they’ve got, they’ve already got a decent rotation that could work for them thanks to some of the younger arms who showed up in Houston’s recent run to the World Series.

1. Justin Verlander
2. Lance McCullers Jr.
3. Framber Valdez
4. José Urquidy
5. Luis Garcia or Cristian Javier or Jake Odorizzi

Obviously Verlander and McCullers would still lead the Astros rotation, but if Houston doesn’t go out and get another starting pitcher to bolster rotation, Valdez, Urquidy, and Garcia are all young options who can go out and get some solid starts for the Astros.

That trio was a bit inconsistent at times, so Houston might want to still look around a little (or add another talented arm or two to the bullpen), but that’s a serviceable rotation that could get the Astros pretty far, assuming everyone stays healthy.  It’s also worth noting that the Astros have Odorizzi and Javier available as well.

Now that Verlander is back, Houston has some flexibility with what it can do with its starting rotation.