Houston have sign two players after Playoff Failure

Make Yainer Diaz the starting catcher

Martin Maldonado had a four-year run as the primary starting catcher under manager Dusty Baker, but it is unclear what his value was outside of the fact that the pitching staff was comfortable with the veteran behind the plate. Maldonado batted just .191 with an OPS of .623 in 469 games with Houston. Defensively, he was among the best in the league at throwing out potential base stealers, but he was below-average in pitch framing in each of his years with the Astros. Last season was particularly poor in regard to the latter, as Maldonado cost the Astros 18 runs with his framing — the worst in all of baseball.

Understudy Yainer Diaz only made 42 starts behind the plate, but it is already clear that he can be as good defensively as Maldonado was. The youngster threw out 30% of potential base-stealers, putting him in the 86th percentile in pop time and the 81st percentile in caught steal above average. He was also mobile when it came to blocking pitches. Diaz managed eight blocks above average in limited time, placing him in the 90th percentile in that category. His framing still needs work (21st percentile), but the 25-year-old has a strong defensive base to build on.

Offensively, it was tough for Dusty Baker to keep Yainer Diaz out of the lineup even with so many great hitters on the roster. Diaz finished the year with an expected slugging percentage of .546 — the 96th percentile among all qualified hitters and the best among catchers. He ended up with an OPS of .846 while hitting 23 homers and driving in 60 RBI in just over 100 games played. Those stats will decline a bit once Diaz becomes a full-time catcher, but this guy has a chance to be among the best in the league as a full-time starter in 2024.

Sign a mid-level starting pitcher

With the likes of Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez, the Astros’ starting pitching was hardly a weakness this year, but improvements still can be made. Outside of this duo, injuries and underperformance hurt a rotation that was supposed to be among the best in baseball. Luis Garcia underwent Tommy John surgery in May and will not return until some point in 2024, while Lance McCullers Jr. did not pitch a single inning in 2023. Meanwhile, Cristian Javier’s ERA jumped two full points and Jose Urquidy’s ERA went from 3.94 in 2022 to 5.29 in 2023. Houston’s starting pitching ERA of 4.17 was 12th in the Majors.

Will Garcia and McCullers be able to return to top form after serious injuries, and can Javier and Urquidy bounce back after down years? With so many uncertainties in this rotation entering 2024, the club would be smart to invest in another starting pitcher. San Diego Padres Michael would be a strong addition on his fourth consecutive deal. The veteran had a 3.22 ERA — his best since 2014 — across 134 innings last year, while his 4-seam fastball/changeup combo was worth 24 runs over the course of the season. Michael Wacha is the perfect mid-level starter to solidify an Astros rotation that enters 2024 with so many unknowns.