Luis Garcia injury news makes ill-advised Astros reunion even more likely

Remember when the Houston Astros were the class of the American League? When they had a starting rotation that was stacked and they had a lineup filled with boppers? That has felt like a distant memory this year as the Astros have limped through a year filled with injuries, underperformance and disappointments. 

While that disappointment has the fans harkening back to the Astros run of dominance from the 2010s, the front office needs to leave the past in the past once free agency rolls around. And by that, we mean they shouldn’t go after Justin Verlander in free agency — no matter how tempting it is.

Houston Astros should stay away from Justin Verlander in free agency 

Yes, Verlander is one of the most revered players in Astros history and was the poster child for their run of dominance. But it’s clear that he’s not the same kind of player he was when he was at his Cy Young peak. 

After spending parts of seven years with the Astros (no need to talk about his brief stint with the Mets) Verlander headed for greener pastures in the offseason when he signed a one-year, $15 million contract with the Giants. 

The year hasn’t gone the way he expected, as he has a 3.88 ERA in 146 innings this year with one more start remaining this weekend. Coming into the year, most of the conversation around Verlander was based around how close he’d get to getting 300 wins (he entered the year with 262). Instead, he didn’t get his first win of the season until July. 

Even if Verlander has gotten better as the season has gone on (2.86 ERA since the start of August), he’s 42 and has a 4.42 ERA across the last two seasons. The obvious other part of this equation is that the Astros need pitching help. Bad. 

Luis Garcia is going to be out for all of 2026 after only making two starts post Tommy John surgery, while fellow starters Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski and Brandon Walter have also undergone surgeries that will keep them out for all of next season. Right now, the Astros rotation consists of Hunter Brown, Framber Valdez (who has struggled as the season has gone on), Cristian Javier and Jason Alexander. 

While Brown, Valdez and Javier will all be back next year, that shouldn’t stop the Astros from being heavily involved in the starting pitching market. But their focus should be on young(ish) starters with team control and a history of durability — not an aging pitcher who is on the back-nine (or final hole) of his career. 

Verlander’s legacy in Houston will forever be associated with winning thanks to his no-hitter, Cy Young and World Series wins, but that’s ancient history at this point. Carlos Correa left (before coming back), Jose Altuve isn’t the same kind of player he was and George Springer’s mashing in Toronto. 

Verlander’s already said that he’s planning on pitching in 2026, and he’ll likely ink a contract with a team given his track record. 

But that team shouldn’t be the Astros. 

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