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.