A season ago, the Astros arguably had an embarrassment of riches when it came to the pitching staff, specifically among the starting rotation with Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr., José Urquidy, and Hunter Brown all on staff. That depth chart crunch played a role in the organization ultimately trading Jake Odorizzi to the Braves as there weren’t enough innings to spread around. This same rationale also applied to the decision to not re-sign Verlander, in addition to his ultimate price, in the offseason.
At the time, I recognized the Astros’ rationale behind not re-signing Verlander or a different starter to absorb some innings.