Will the Astros need to sign another pitcher?

Framber Valdez kneels as he pitches in the game six of the World Series.“The only thing that matters is what happens on the little hump out in the middle of the field.” —Earl Weaver

The Astros’ incredible run to 106 regular season wins and all the way to winning the World Series was driven by great pitching and great depth in both starting and relief. The starting pitch depth went a long way to enabling the bullpen performance by preventing too many “worn-out bullpen days.” (As a side note, I consider defense and pitching as a joint effort called “run prevention,”—-and defense is certainly part of the exceptional pitching performance.)

With Justin Verlander leaving the Astros, the next…