3 Justin Verlander replacements the Astros should acquire

2. Astros could take another swing at LHP Jose Quintana

Speaking of lefties that could come at a pretty good price for the Astros, José Quintana oddly seems to have a bit of a surpressed market and there hasn’t been much buzz about the southpaw who finished the 2022 season with the Cardinals after coming over in a deadline trade from the Pirates.

Houston is no stranger to Quintana as they were connected to the Cuban hurler back in both 2016 and 2017 but ultimately nothing ever materialized with him. Still, they have seen him and obviously had interest and that should be renewed after he had a 2.93 ERA overall last season, including a 2.01 mark over 12 starts with St. Louis.

Quintana wouldn’t be an ace, but he’s proven he can be a solid cog in a good team’s rotation, which would allow him to fit right into the mix in Houston.

1. Landing Carlos Rodon would be a home run for the Astros

Why not answer losing one ace by signing another, particularly one that the Mets have/had been connected to this offseason? That’s what the World Series champs could do if they were willing to break the bank for Carlos Rodon.

Rodon has dealt with some injury issues in the past few years but he’s been filthy when healthy, which he was for basically all of the 2022 season. In 2021 with the White Sox, he had a 2.37 ERA and 0.957 WHIP and followed that up with a 2.88 ERA and 1.028 WHIP with the Giants this past season. He’s been one of the most underrated studs in baseball of late.

Again, there isn’t a need for the Astros to outright replace Verlander given the quality and depth of their rotation even after the departure. But if they want to have a surefire ace to come in and fill that role for the pitching staff, than making a run at Rodon would make a ton of sense while also giving them another lefty in the mix as well, something that could be perceived as an upgrade from Verlander.