Previewing the Astros' bullpen candidates who could replace Neris, Stanek, and Maton

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The Astros made one of the biggest splashes of free agency in quite surprising fashion, signing Josh Hader to a five-year mega-deal. Hader has unseated Ryan Pressly as the closer, while Pressly will return to his roots as a setup man.

With Bryan Abreu, Pressly, and Hader in the back of the bullpen, the Astros have the best seventh-ninth inning arms in the game. But did Houston do enough?

Yes, Hader is elite, but he will only throw around 60 innings this year. With Ryne Stanek, Phil Maton, and Hector Neris playing elsewhere, the Astros had over 200 innings from their bullpen to replace. The injury to Kendall Graveman made Hader an essential addition, but they still have some patchwork to do.

Previewing the Astros' bullpen options to replace Hector Neris, Ryne Stanek, and Phil Maton

As of now, they've signed Hader and traded for a bunch of minor-league relievers. So if a starter gets rocked early, who will throw the fourth-sixth innings? When Abreu and Pressly appear in back-to-back outings, who bridges the gap to Hader?

It's worth examining the Astros' middle relief bullpen options.

Rafael Montero

Rafael Montero is a shoo-in to make the Astros bullpen next year. Why? Simply because of his contract. Houston isn't going to DFA Montero with two years remaining on his contract, so they are stuck with the one-hit wonder in the pen.

Montero was lights out in 2022, and was paid handsomely for it, before regressing mightily to his career norms in 2023. He was arguably the worst reliever in baseball in the first half, but did show signs down the stretch, posting a 3.10 ERA in the second half (though his WHIP was still inflated at 1.45).

It would obviously be incredible if Montero can regain his 2022 form, but Houston just needs him to be a high 3.00-low 4.00 ERA guy. If Montero can do this, their bullpen will be in great shape. With the injury to Graveman, Montero likely enters camp as the reliever most likely in line to handle the sixth inning.

Dylan Coleman

I believe the Astros stole Dylan Coleman this offseason. They capitalized on the Royals' 40-man roster crunch to land their next pitching lab restoration project.

Coleman recorded a 2.66 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and 156 ERA+ from 2021-22. He walked 4.6 batters per nine, a pretty high rate, but his high-octane fastball and wipeout breaking ball pointed to a bright future. The wheels came off in 2023, as Coleman recorded an 8.84 ERA with a 2.02 WHIP. He lost total control of his fastball, walking over nine batters per nine innings.

A change of scenery should suit Coleman well. Maybe he never reclaims the form he displayed his first two years in the bigs, or maybe he does. Either way, he was a no-risk pickup.

In 14 appearances last year, Parker Mushinski recorded a 5.52 ERA. Joel Kuhnel posted a 4.66 ERA with a sky high 6.57 FIP. Seth Martinez had a 5.23 ERA in 35 appearances. The aforementioned Montero had a 5.08 ERA in 68 appearances. Even if Coleman doesn't top his 2021-2022, after an offseason with the Astros, he should have no issues topping the numbers many of the Astros middle relief arms posted in 2023.

Bennett Sousa

Look for Bennett Sousa to break out in a big way in 2024. He was unhittable in his brief Astros tenure, allowing only one hit in his 6.1 innings of work, striking out eight and walking none. Sousa floated around the league as a waiver claim, but he found something in Houston.

Sousa was ineligible for the playoff roster, but Dana Brown was adamant he would have made the team had he been eligible.

There is a lot to love under the hood with Sousa, in particular his slider. The Astros' landing of Hader gave them a surefire wipeout left-hander, but Sousa likely can eat innings to the tune of a mid 3.00-mid 4.00 ERA and neutralize lefties over the course of 162. He's likely found a permanent home in Houston.

Forrest Whitley

Forrest Whitley was once one of the top prospects in the game of baseball. Ill-timed injuries and suspensions, as well as a loss of control, have done plenty to curb Whitley's once-bright future, but as we argued they should have done ahead of 2023, the Astros are finally converting Whitley to a reliever in 2024.

His stock isn't what it once was, but Dana Brown has been bullish on Whitley's chances with his pure stuff. He said Whitley has a chance to throw somewhere between the fifth and seventh innings.

He may not go on to become a Hall of Famer like Goose Gossage or Rollie Fingers, or even an All-Star like Jason Isringhausen, but there is plenty of precedent for failed starters becoming relievers as they crack the bigs. Whitley will have every chance to do just that.

Parker Mushinski/Seth Martinez

It's a safe bet one of Parker Mushinski or Seth Martinez will crack the Opening Day roster. Both have been shuttled back and forth between Triple-A and the big-league club the last couple of seasons. With Hader in the fold, and the addition of Sousa, Mushinski may be on the outside looking in, as Houston is unlikely to carry three lefties on their Opening Day roster.

Martinez isn't going to be a leverage arm for the Astros, but every team needs an arm that can throw multiple innings when a team is winning big or getting blown out. Martinez is a proven innings eater, and he's likely to crack the Opening Day roster. His 5.23 ERA was high in 2023, but he's only one year removed from a 2.09 ERA across 29 games in 2022.

Ronel Blanco/Brandon Bielak

Ronel Blanco made 17 appearances for the Astros in 2023, starting seven times. In his 10 relief appearances, Blanco posted a 3.86 ERA.

Bielak was primarily a starter in 2023, but has come out of the bullpen 39 times in 60 career appearances.

Both are names to keep an eye on cracking the Opening Day roste,r with both Justin Verlander and J.P. France behind schedule with injuries. Of the two, Blanco is likely a better relief option for the long haul, but Bielak is out of minor league options.

This will be an interesting battle to keep an eye on this spring.

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