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Inside the Astros

Astros Could Regret Passing on Tyler Mahle This Offseason

Houston has to add arms to the roster, and Tyler Mahle would be a huge, positive acquisition for the Astros.
Maddy Dickens|
Braves starting pitcher Tyler Mahle (54) delivers a pitch against the Astros at Daikin Park. Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn
Braves starting pitcher Tyler Mahle (54) delivers a pitch against the Astros at Daikin Park. Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Houston Astros

The 2026 season was somewhat of an embarrassment for the Houston Astros, who boasted the American League MVP, Yordan Alvarez, who led the most explosive offense in baseball, to then be swept in the Wild Card round by the Chicago White Sox.

Ultimately, it is hard to point the finger at anything but the starting rotation, as they were limited, to say the least, which was lowlighted by the fact that the team's "ace" Hunter Brown was booed off the field in the first inning of the win-or-go-home game in the Wild Card.

Truly, the front office didn't help the Astros at all at the trade deadline, as they not only dealt away Spencer Arrighetti, who was definitely struggling, but then didn't add a single arm to help out an already inconsistent rotation.

If Houston wants to make it further into October, then they have to be aggressive this winter, which entails signing free agents to the pitching staff, and Tyler Mahle should be drawing a lot of attention after what he accomplished in the second half.

Mahle posted a sub-2.00 ERA in his final 15 starts of the season and then went into his first postseason. The 32-year-old faced both the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers and handled them masterfully as he logged a pair of quality starts, allowing one earned run in both.

At the end of the day, Mahle can't be the only answer for the Astros, but it would be a good start.

What Astros Rotation Would Look Like With Mahle

Tyler Mahle throws a baseball in a blue Atlanta jersey
Braves pitcher Tyler Mahle (54) pitches the ball against the Phillies. Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On paper, it might seem like the Astros would have a solid rotation when Opening Day comes around if Mahle turns into their No.1. However, the highs and lows for Brown were more than concerning, and Tatsuya Imai had his fair share of struggles.

  1. Tyler Mahle
  2. Hunter Brown
  3. Peter Lambert
  4. Tatsuya Imai
  5. Hayden Wesneski
  6. Ethan Pecko

There is also the problem with how inexperienced both Hayden Wesneski and Ethan Pecko are, as the two rookies were thrown to the wolves in the final months of the year simply because Houston had no other options.

One thing is for certain: this ballclub has to acquire at least one arm for the pitching staff, but it would be in their best interests to look at two, because they desperately need experience and a proven player to keep runs off the board.

The Astros have a long way to go before they can be considered a dynasty again, but that starts now, and it should include a pitcher like Mahle.

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Maddy Dickens
MADDY DICKENS

Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.

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