3 upcoming Astros free agents who have been good, but don't need to be re-signed

However the Houston Astros' pursuit of a spot in the playoffs goes, the end of the 2025 season is coming up fast, and that means the Astros have some choices to make. With most of their roster either under contract beyond this season or being arbitration-eligible, Houston doesn't have a ton of decisions as to who to keep and who to cut loose.

That said, there are certainly some players that are currently on the roster that could be free agents this coming offseason who have arguments on both sides of the roster. Most of those guys will be kept, but there are a few that the Astros would be best served by letting walk.

Here are pending Astros free agents who they don't need to keep despite their solid performance

This isn't a list of every Astros free agent. There are some (Brendan Rodgers, Victor Caratini) that aren't going to be particularly hard decisions as to what Houston should do when it comes to trying to keep them around. Instead, this is a look at the guys who specifically have played pretty well or better with the Astros, but who the team should still part ways with.

Framber Valdez

Valdez has been a tremendous pitcher for the Astros, and in a vacuum, of course, Houston should want to keep him. The problem is that the decision is more complicated than that. Not only is it very likely that Valdez is going to command a crazy contract in free agency, but now there are some pretty real questions as to how he conducts himself on the field and with the rest of the clubhouse. Houston just doesn't have the free cash available to take a risk on one player like that, and they should just wish Valdez the best.

Craig Kimbrel

Astros fans could not have realistically thought that signing Craig Kimbrel late in the season would do much to help their bullpen after he was discarded by both the Braves and Rangers earlier in the season. However, Kimbrel has yet to give up an earned run in eight appearances with Houston so far, and while his stuff and command have diminished, the wily veteran has been able to pitch around baserunners so far. That said, Kimbrel IS 37 years old, and the Astros would probably be smart to just take what they got from Kimbrel this year and cash out.

Mauricio Dubon

Okay, this is cheating, and we fully admit that. Dubon is arbitration-eligible in 2026, which means that he is under team control. However, Dubon is just a good utility defender who can only slap the ball around and rarely impact games with his bat. With the replacement options the Astros have for that roster spot that can also do some damage, one wonders why Houston wouldn't non-tender Dubon. The fact that Dubon is entering his last year of arbitration and is almost certainly going to want a significant raise next year only adds to the problem of keeping him.

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