Dream Astros rotation for 2026 season would completely flip team's narrative

With the team dealing with so many injury issues of varying severity last season, it became very apparent that the Houston Astros needed to get serious about creating some real rotation depth this offseason. However, with the expected departure of staff ace Framber Valdez in free agency this offseason, adding more starting pitching help basically became a requirement.

In all likelihood, the state of the Astros' payroll and roster likely means that Houston will (probably) not be shopping at the top of the starting pitching market. They do technically have internal options available to them, and with owner Jim Crane's reluctance to exceed the luxury tax consistently, the odds are good that the Astros' front office will be shopping around for mid-range starters instead of the big names.

Still, it is fun to dream big this time of year and the dream Astros rotation would be a sight to behold.

Here is a dream Astros rotation that Houston fans would (probably) absolutely love

While everyone has their own definition of "dream" scenarios, this is going to be focused on players that might actually be available, as opposed to completely making things up. Yes, trading for Paul Skenes and then cloning him four times would be sick, but that ain't happenin'. There are certainly some pie-in-the-sky ideas here, but they are grounded somewhat in reality, just to put some guardrails in place to make the discussion worthwhile instead of just making a list of All-Stars and calling it a day.

Hunter Brown - RHP

Brown showed flashes of what he was capable of during 2024, but his coming-out party came in 2025 when he finished third in AL Cy Young voting and made his first All-Star Game thanks to posting a 2.43 ERA in 185.1 innings with 206 strikeouts and just 57 walks. Brown's long-term future in Houston is in question after the Astros bungled early extension talks, and now he has probably priced himself out, but Brown is going to be an anchor of Houston's rotation for at least the next couple of years.

Tarik Skubal - LHP

Now we come to the first "dream big" moment with Skubal. The Tigers are talking a tough game when they say they want to keep Skubal, but everyone knows that Detroit and Skubal are miles apart when it comes to talks on a long-term deal. As arguably the best pitcher in baseball entering his last year of team control before free agency, the Tigers could cash in massively if they decided to trade him. Houston would have to part with some big-time talent to entice Detroit to get a deal done, but doing so would give the Astros legit aces from the left and right side. Don't expect Houston to extend Skubal, though, even under the best-case scenario.

Cristian Javier - RHP

Another holdover from the 2025 roster, Javier returned in August from Tommy John surgery, and he pitched pretty well overall, with his stuff passing the eye test as well. While the walks were a tad higher than you would want to see, and his 4.62 ERA was mediocre at best, Javier had regained his velocity and showed flashes of excellence. A normal offseason before 2026 is likely to do wonders for him, especially as he looks to regain his command, and he is a very reasonable middle-of-the-rotation type arm for the Astros to keep around.

Ranger Suarez - LHP

The Astros add their second lockdown lefty in this scenario in free agent Ranger Suarez. While Zack Wheeler has stolen much of the pitching spotlight in Philadelphia, Suarez has quietly been incredibly consistent with a cumulative 3.59 ERA over 104 starts from 2022 through 2025. Most of the contract predictions for the 30-year-old lefty have him getting a five or six-year deal with an AAV around $26-27 million. That is more than the Astros prefer to spend on, well, anyone...but we don't care about Crane's wallet here.

Spencer Arrighetti - RHP

It does seem odd to include a young guy in Arrighetti who missed as much time with injuries as he did in 2025 here. However, Arrighetti does have real strikeout stuff, and not upgrading his rotation spot would allow for spending on other roster spots, which would be just terrific. There is an argument for an external option here, but we are dreaming big, and Arrighetti's upside is very real.