Houston Astros Rumors: Why the team might fill out the rotation internally

Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole

Fortunately, the Houston Astros already have two bonafide aces sitting at the top of their rotation. Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole have both seen career resurgences in Houston and last year saw maybe their two best seasons of their respective careers. They also were both top-five Cy Young finishers last season.

So, having those two guys atop the rotation mitigates the need to go out and either pay the farm or trade the farm for one guy to ensure an ace rests at the helm of your team’s rotation. Verlander and Cole could lead nearly any rotation in the league so having them allows you to be more choosy with your additions.

Having these guys kept the team from entering the Patrick Corbin arms race and truly trying to trade for a guy like Noah Syndergaard. They didn’t have to forfeit the immense amounts of cash for Corbin and prospects for Syndergaard.

So, these top two guys quell lots of worries the team could potentially have about their rotation. The Astros are pretty much guaranteed, at worst, two solid starts per five starts. That is way better than a lot of teams can say. Houston could be a lot worse off but that’s not to say there aren’t still concerns, no matter how slight, about the rotation this year and beyond.

Verlander and Cole are both slated to hit the open market next offseason and if they have seasons like they did this past year, they’ll command boatloads of cash. In all likelihood, at least one of them will be brought back but if the team avoid spending big this offseason they could both return with Cole likely on a longer deal than Verlander.