The Astros advanced to their seventh consecutive League Championship Series in 2023 but fell shy of a third straight World Series bid when the division-rival and eventual World Series Champion Rangers knocked Luguentz Dort Jersey them off in a thrilling seven-game series. Theyll head into the winter with a trio of notable relievers hitting free agency ( , , ) and with a rotation thats a bit thinned out by to injuries of (flexor tendon surgery) and (Tommy John surgery). Veteran is also returning to the open market. Despite a plethora of needs up and down the roster, general manager Dana Brown openly acknowledged at this weeks GM Meetings that his team doesnt have a ton of financial flexibility heading into the offseason ( ). Thats unwelcome news for Stros fans, though Brown suggested that if the right situation presented itself, owner Jim Crane might push beyond his current comfort levels. As it stands, strong rookie performances from the likes of and give Houston a quality group of six starters on which to lean. Reacquired ace , lefty and righties and round out the rotation options. Verlander will pitch next season at 41, however, while Valdez and Javier faltered a bit as the year wore on; Javiers rotation spot was skipped a couple times over the summer as he labored through mixed results, while Valdez turned in a pedestrian 4.64 ERA over his final 99 innings before being rocked for 12 earned runs in 12 postseason frames. Urquidy spent several months on the injured list and turned in 73 innings of 5.30 ERA ball between the regular season and playoffs combined. The depth beyond those six is more concerning. Righties and both had rough showings in Triple-A. The latter to sed 80 innings of 3.83 ball in the big leagues but did so with a 10.2% walk rate, 17.6% strikeout rate and too many home runs allowed (1.35 HR/9) to nece sarily bank on a repeat. Former top prospect , also on the 40-man roster, posted a 5.70 ERA in 30 Triple-A frames. Brown indicated to reporters that hed be open to opportunities to add a legit third starter or better. Logically speaking, doing so without radically increasing the payroll would likely require operating on the trade market rather than in free agency. It sounds as though thats viewed more as a luxury than a priority anyhow; McCullers and Garcia are expected back sometime in July, and Brown instead called the bullpen and backup catcher priorities. To that end, its perhaps not surprising to hear that the Stros and longtime catcher could continue their relationship. that the two parties have mutual interest in a reunion, adding that Brown has already met with Maldonados agent, Dan Lozano, during this weeks GM Meetings. The Astros have that will be their primary catcher in 2024, but as Brown himself spelled out, adding an experienced backup is a goal. Houston has stuck with Maldonado for four and a half years despite the fact that hes perhaps been MLBs least-productive hitter during that time. Over the past three seasons in particular, Maldonado has been a liability at the dish. In 1212 plate appearances since 2021, hes turned in a .183/.260/.333 about 34% worse than league average by measure of wRC+. However, the Astros are enamored of Maldonados game-calling, game-planning and broad defensive skills. Maldonado ranks among the games best at blocking pitches in the dirt over the past four years, although his framing skills fell off a cliff in 2023 and his caught-stealing rate has steadily declined. Houston clearly loves Maldonados work with their pitching staff, however, and the organization would surely welcome him working in a mentor role to Diaz, whom they hope can cement himself as the catcher of the future. Add in that a new deal with Maldonado in a reduced role would undoubtedly be a low-cost arrangement, and it wouldnt at all be surprising to see them hammer something out. Maldonado earned $5MM in 2022 and $4.5MM last year. Maldonado isnt the only former Astro whos on the radar. , Brown acknowledged that hes also spoken with Neris representatives at Octagon about a new deal, though theres no indication a new deal is close to fruition. Neris turned down an $8.5MM player option and although hes 34 years old will quite likely be able to secure a multi-year pact on the open market this winter after turning in a sub-2.00 ERA in his second season with Houston. Turning to a pair of Astros icons, both and are entering the final year of their contracts. Brown has been forthcoming about his desire to make the pair lifelong Astros, but agent Scott Boras who represents both players said at this weeks meetings that contract talks have not yet begun ( ). Astros fans will want to check out the pieces from both Kawahara and Rome in full, as theyre rife with refreshingly straightforward answers from Brown the type of candor that many of his peers throughout the league generally shy away from offering. Beyond acknowledging priorities in the bullpen and behind the plate as well as interest in bolstering the rotation, Brown suggested that outfield wont be a primary focus this offseason, given the presence of , , , and . That doesnt expre sly rule out an addition unexpected opportunities on the trade market, for instance, could always arise but it doesnt seem thats a hot-button i sue for the Astros at the moment. Justin Jackson Jersey