Astros' first offseason move should have fans wondering what Dana Brown is thinking

Offseason had to start somewhere.

Eric Cole

Cincinnati Reds v Chicago Cubs / Justin Casterline/GettyImages

The Houston Astros enter this offseason with a number of things they would like to check off their shopping list this coming offseason, but how they can make their goals happen is a bit up in the air. The Astros have some contracts on their books that are not helping the cause whatsoever, and with all of their bullpen injuries, finding some better pitching depth that isn't going to cost an arm and a leg is high on the list of priorities. However, what wasn't expected was their first reliever signing to be a potential conversion to the rotation.

However, the move that the Astros essentially kicked off the offseason with feels extremely risky, On Friday, it was reported that the Astros were signing Nate Pearson to a one year deal. While Pearson has huge upside, there are...some problems.

Right-hander Nate Pearson and the Houston Astros are in agreement on a one-year, $1.35 million contract, source says. Pearson, who gets a major-league deal, heads to Houston after two seasons with the Chicago Cubs.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) October 17, 2025

Astros add Nate Pearson on a one-year deal to kick off offseason moves

So the good news is that there are at least some good raw materials to work with with Pearson. Once one of the more exciting draft prospects back in 2017, Pearson averaged 97.6 MPH with his fastball and can go higher than that. Assuming the Astros' plan of converting him back to starting actually works, he has the potential to be special.

The bad news is that more often than not, Pearson has no idea where his pitches are going. Sometimes it works out that his stuff is so good that hitters chase it out of the zone, and that limits the damage. However, with a 9.20 ERA in limited action with the Cubs this year, what has happened more regularly is that he throws uncompetitive pitches that hitters spit on and/or he takes something off his stuff to command it, and then it gets yakatowed all over the field.

That said, the price is right here. If Houston needed to give Pearson a multi-year deal or something, this would be a disaster waiting to happen. However, at a little over a million bucks, the Astros could end up with a quality starting pitcher if they can fix Pearson and give him at least reasonable command. With Luis Garcia hurt and Framber Valdez likely to leave, that is a gamble worth taking.

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.