Best Astros Fits Among Remaining Top 40 Free Agents
The Houston Astros don’t appear to be big spenders this offseason — at least not so far.
The Astros seem inclined to try to avoid pushing their salary over the luxury tax threshold while trying to field a winning team for 2024. There are also other priorities, including extending Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman, who are both free agents after the 2024 season.
Still, the Astros should be looking for ways to shore up parts of their roster.
Earlier this year, The Athletic published its Top 40 free agents. Some have flown off the board, such as Shohei Ohtani. But, as of this writing, more than half of the free agents listed are still available.
Here are the five players that would be the best fit for the Astros among the remaining free agents on the list.
RP Jordan Hicks
The Astros have three relievers in free agency and, for the moment, none seem on the path to a return. Hicks can hit triple digits on the radar gun and last season for St. Louis and Toronto he made 66 appearances and registered 12 saves, putting up a 3.29 ERA with 81 strikeouts in 65.2 innings. Hicks could be a bridge to a future closer once Ryan Pressly’s contract is up after the 2024 season (there is a mutual option for 2025).
C/DH Mitch Garver
Fresh off helping the Texas Rangers win the World Series, he would be an upgrade offensively as a backup catcher and could spell Yordan Alvarez at designated hitter. The signing of Victor Catarini makes Garver a bit of a luxury, but he would be a luxury worth exploring. The longer free agency goes, the more he becomes cheap power (19 home runs last season).
UTL Whit Merrifield
Merrifield is a second baseman and outfielder and recently told MLB Network that while he prefers second base, he’s cool with bouncing around. The Astros already have one of those players in Mauricio Dubón. But a second wouldn’t hurt, especially at a reduced price tag, which is where Merrifield is trending as the market softens.
SP Lucas Giolito
He’s coming off a particularly down year — 8-15 this season with a 4.88 ERA over 33 starts — but considering the Astros won’t get Luis Garcia or Lance McCullers Jr. back until midseason, Giolito would be a low-cost backup plan who can slide into the bullpen or become a trade chip when Garcia and McCullers return.
RP Aroldis Chapman
Look the Astros are his personal nightmare. So it would be perfect Karma for Chapman to join the Astros and have a great year as a set-up man on a one-year deal. His fastball is humming again and he had a 3.09 ERA in 61 appearances with 103 strikeouts and 37 hits in 58.1 innings. These days he’s best as a set-up man, which works perfectly for what the Astros need.
