Astros could quietly benefit from Blue Jays' massive rotation pivot

The Houston Astros would clearly like to continue building more starting pitching depth this offseason. However, prices are already high, especially with Dylan Cease's deal still fresh on everyone's minds and the Astros famously don't have much in the way of payroll space to pursue top arms like old friend Framber Valdez or Ranger Suarez. You would think that that means any substantial pitching addition would come from the trade market, but Houston still has solid free agent options that won't break the bank.

With Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier at the front of the rotation, what the Astros could really use is an innings-eater type. They would obviously take a Cy Young-caliber season, but Houston struggled to get meaningful innings from the 3/4/5 spots in their rotation in 2025. At this point, someone who would give them 170+ innings a year would be huge for preserving the bullpen down the stretch.

Well, one such free agent that could easily fit the bill is Chris Bassitt, who may find that Toronto's willingness to bring him back is significantly lower now that they have made multiple rotation additions.

Blue Jays starter shopping spree could leave Astros open to swoop in and steal Chris Bassitt

Unlike the top names on the free agent market, Bassitt does not have a qualifying offer attached to his free agency, so Houston's draft picks would be safe if they signed him. Bassitt is predicted to get a significant contract in the realm of two years, $45 million, which is problematic, but we are already getting signals that the Astros are looking to make some cost-cutting trades, and Bassitt is easier to justify the spend on than a five or six-year deal that may age like milk.

Bassitt has been a reliable source of innings in averaging just over 180 a season, but the actual production has been somewhat lackluster, especially the last couple of seasons, where his ERA has crept up to around 4, and the home run ball has become a problem.

The bigger obstacle, though, was that Bassitt had expressed an interest in returning to the Blue Jays. However, given what we expect Bassitt to get in free agency and how much they have already invested in Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce, Toronto feels like they are fully out as an option for Bassitt unless he is willing to take a massive pay cut, and that could give the Astros an opening to strike.

Unfortunately, almost any free agent signing is going to require Houston to cut some payroll. With the Winter Meetings coming up fast and given how Dana Brown was the talk of the meetings last year, don't be surprised if the Astros are wheeling and dealing yet again, and we see Bassitt connected to them.