Astros Avoid Arbitration With Wesneski, Citing Faith In Possible Resurgence

Hayden Wesneski avoids arbitration with the Astros, citing that they might have faith in their starting pitcher following an underwhelming first season.

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Arbitration salary exchange day is today. The Houston Astros have eleven players on their roster and have settled with arbitration contracts with eight of them so far. One of the players is Hayden Wesneski.

Happy arbitration salary exchange day. The Astros have 11 arbitration-eligible players with whom they must either settle on a 2026 salary or head to a hearing next month. Hayden Wesneski settled at $975,000, according to a source. Peña, Brown, Paredes, Diaz among those remaining

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) January 8, 2026

Wesneski Part Of Kyle Tucker Trade

Wesneski, to add some context, was one of the pieces the Astros acquired in the infamous Kyle Tucker trade to the Chicago Cubs following the 2024 season.

The other players involved in exchange, Isaac Parades and Cam Smith, had a larger impact due to their durability and contribution. On the other hand, Wesneski was added as a piece to hold down the back end of the starting rotation, but failed to stay healthy.

The Houston native started the 2025 season off as a mixed bag with some strong starts sprinkled in between. In April, Wesneski finished with a 3.86 ERA with 26 strikeouts across five starts, pitching at least five innings per game. His final start in May before his immediate shutdown saw him go just four innings, giving up four runs and two walks.

The 28-year old righty finished 2025 early with a 4.50 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and 29 strikeouts in six starts. Pitching just a month in the beginning of the season is a small sample size for Wesneski, yet the Astros gave him another opportunity in his first arbitration year.

Wesneski Avoids Arbitration, Earns $975,000

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On a financial standpoint, it's not a risk. Wesneski agreed to a 1-year arbitration deal worth $975,000 as he continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery.

He's expected to return mid-season fully healthy to be an addition to the rotation or bullpen help. In the best-case scenario, he's playing half a season, earning his full end of the bargain.

Houston's Starting Pitching Is Bloated

As if Houston needs more starting pitching. Astros manager Joe Espada plans to anchor a six-man rotation. The definitive pieces in the rotation are Hunter Brown, Tatsuya Imai, Cristian Javier, and Spencer Arrighetti.

The other two slots could be filled in with many other selections to choose from, such as Jason Alexander, Mike Burrows, Lance McCullers Jr., AJ Blubaugh, Nate Pearson or Ryan Weiss. Up-and-coming prospect Miguel Ullola is also in the mix. Ronel Blanco is also coming back at some point.

So where does that leave Wesneski, who initially had a slot in the rotation just last year?

Coming back from TJ surgery and having to work your way back to earn a slot in an already bloated rotation after having earned it a season ago seems unfair. Additionally, it creates a murky situation for consistent starter slots. Wesneski's stuff is more than capable of doing well in the back end of a starting rotation at the MLB level.

The problem is, all the Astros starting pitchers have that same capability, and likely all of them would prefer a consistent rotation slot. While Wesneski is given another shot at contributing to a return to the playoffs, it'll be tough to see how and where he'll be used.

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