3 pending free agents the Astros need to let walk and 1 they need to keep

The Houston Astros have been one of the best teams in baseball ($) over the last several years even if their haters won't acknowledge it. Houston's consistent dominance has been right there with the Braves and Dodgers thanks to the team developing an amazing core group of players and knowing when to strike in free agency and on the trade market.

However, all playoff contention windows eventually come to an end when a team is built this way. While the end of the 2024 season will be the real test as that is when both Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve are set to become free agents, the Astros also stand to lose several players once this season comes to an end. The decisions they make this offseason will obviously impact their payroll down the line and that means making the hard choices as to who to keep around and who to let go in free agency.

Here are 3 pending free agents the Astros need to let go and 1 they need to keep

Somewhat fortunately, the decisions this coming offseason regarding pending free agents aren't particularly difficult or expensive. Some of these players have already been hanging on to a roster spot for dear life regardless of their contract status. Others have been really valuable contributors in the past, but who are clearly past their prime and their money/roster spot probably needs to be used by Houston to make improvements elsewhere. Fans should be thankful for their service, but the Astros don't have the money to keep guys around just for nostalgia purposes.

Let's take a look at some of the Astros players that the team needs to let walk in free agency after the season and one that they should very strongly consider bringing back.

The Astros need to finally let Martin Maldonado go

Much has been made of Martin Maldonado's role on the Houston Astros in 2023. Before this season, Maldonado's lack of production at the plate could be lived with because of how good he was defensively as well as his expert management of the Astros' pitching staff. Catcher is the one position where teams often have to make that offensive sacrifice and until this season, Maldonado has been very worth doing so.

The problem, of course, is that every part of Maldonado's game went south this season INCLUDING his defense. Not only has his offense been atrocious with a 61 wRC+ (that's bad) in 343 plate appearances, but he has also put up the worst defensive metrics of his career by a wide margin in 2023. Maldonado just looks like a guy that can't do the job anymore.

With Maldonado set to hit free agency, the front office needs take the decision out of Dusty Baker's hands and let him go. The entire Houston organization very clearly loves Maldonado a lot and the intangibles he brings to the table do have value, but they don't outweigh his lack of production on the field anymore. Maybe Maldonado can call it quits and become a coach for Houston. That could be nice. However, with Yainier Diaz being the significantly superior player and the Astros needing to take advantage of these next few seasons, Houston just needs to let Maldonado walk.

Houston can do better than Ryne Stanek

Bullpen arms are a fickle, fickle thing. You always want to have upside in your bullpen and Ryne Stanek as a lot of it with as hard as he throws. Astros fans saw what he is capable of when he is dialed in last season when he posted a 1.15 ERA in 59 appearances in 2022. However, the 2023 season has been a reality check regarding just how volatile relievers can be especially when they struggle to find the strike zone.

Stanek's issues with walks are not new. He walked 5.1 BB/9 last season when he had the best season of his career. However, that sort of walk rate is never sustainable and with a slight dip in his strikeout rate, it is clear that opposing hitters aren't offering at his stuff out of the zone as much anymore with the end result being a 4.05 ERA and 4.29 FIP in 2023.

As tempting as it could be to consider running things back with Stanek to see if he could find lightning in a bottle again, their are just going to be better relief options on the free agent market who won't break the bank and who throw more strikes than Stanek.