Houston Astros

Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown said Wednesday that the team will hold contract talks with free-agent-to-be Alex Bregman following the 2024 season.

"We were in Anaheim the other day and I ran into [agent Scott Boras] and we started talking a little bit, and we both said, 'Look, once we get towards the end of the season and things are over, we'll definitely engage and talk about it,'" he told Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. "We had a small conversation about it. Right now, we're not in any discussions about contract offers. We both agreed we will meet back up."

Bregman, 30, is having another solid season for the Astros, hitting .256 with 23 homers, 67 RBI, 74 runs and a .754 OPS in 136 contests.

By his own lofty standards, it's probably something of a down year—Bregman has finished with 90 or more RBI in four seasons and an OPS above .800 six times. He remains one of the better third baseman in the sport, however, carrying a 3.1 offensive WAR and a 0.9 defensive WAR, per Baseball Reference.

He's also become one of the most decorated October hitters in his generation. His 19 postseason homers are tied for the sixth most in baseball history, while his 54 playoff RBI are tied for eighth.

He and the Astros (82-69) are primed for another October run, currently holding a five-game lead in the AL West over the Seattle Mariners (77-74). Barring a shocking late-season collapse, the Astros will clinch an eighth straight playoff berth and their seventh division crown in the past eight seasons.

Keeping the band together isn't going to be cheap, of course. The Astros already have a payroll of $146.6 million heading into 2025, per Spotrac, and that's before the potential re-signings of pending free agents like Bregman, Justin Verlander, Yusei Kikuchi and Jason Heyward, among others.

Of that group, Bregman will be the priority. But he'll also be one of the top free agents available in the sport, creating the possibility of a bidding war.

Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander was candid after his recent struggles continued in a 12-6 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.

"I mean, f--k, the damage has been done, whatever," he told reporters after the game. "I'm good."

The three-time Cy Young Award winner allowed eight earned runs in three innings of work. A third-inning grand slam by Diamondbacks left fielder Pavin Smith, his second homer of the contest, accounted for half of Arizona's output.

Verlander said he "felt good physically" but that "the results were atrocious." He cited an inability to complement his fastball as a primary factor.

"I found myself behind a lot because I wasn't able to land them, and they did some damage on some fastballs because of that," he said. "I thought the fastball was better today overall. The off-speed was a bit inconsistent location-wise, which got me in a little bit of trouble."

Through his first eight starts of 2024, Verlander was his usual self for the most part. He allowed four or more earned runs just twice and struck out 44 batters across 47 innings.

From June on, however, his performance has fallen off badly. The 41-year-old has an 8.78 ERA over his last six appearances, and opposing hitters are slugging .555 off him with a .950 OPS.

Until a few months ago, Verlander would've been a lock for the Astros' playoff roster. He has thrown a total of 226 career postseason innings and averaged 9.7 strikeouts to 2.9 walks per nine innings. Only Andy Pettitte has logged more innings and nobody has more strikeouts (244).

Manager Joe Espada might have a dilemma on his hands, though, because relying on the current version of Verlander in a high-stakes playoff game would be a risky proposition.

The Houston Astros had a special guest at Minute Maid Park to throw out the first pitch on Friday.

Simone Biles, fresh off a phenomenal performance at the Paris Olympics earlier this month, tossed out the first pitch ahead of the Astros' matchup against the Kansas City Royals.

Biles is from nearby Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston, so she had a hometown crowd as she threw out the first pitch.

Biles is coming off an Olympics that saw her claim gold medals in team, all-around and vault while picking up a silver medal in floor exercise. She has now tallied seven gold medals, two silver and two bronze medals since her first Olympics in 2016.

While Biles hasn't confirmed whether she will compete in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, she left the door open.

"Never say never. The next Olympics is at home, so you just never know," Biles said earlier this month, per USA Today's Nancy Armour. "But I am getting really old."

The Astros will look to have similar success to Biles for the rest of the season and into the playoffs. Houston currently sits at the top of the AL West at 72-62 and can pick up some momentum with a big series against the Royals this weekend.

The Houston Astros and veteran outfielder Jason Heyward reportedly reached an agreement on a contract Tuesday pending a physical, according to ESPN's Kiley McDaniel.

Heyward, 37, was designated for assignment by the Los Angeles Dodgers last week to make room on the roster for veteran utility man Chris Taylor after he was activated from the injured list.

After stints with the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs, Heyward spent the past two seasons with the Dodgers.

In 63 games this season, Heyward is slashing just .208/.289/.393 with six home runs, 28 RBI, 25 runs scored and four stolen bases, marking one of the least productive seasons of his 15-year career.

Heyward was heralded as a potential superstar in the making when he was first called up by the Braves in 2010, as he hit .277 with 18 homers and 72 RBI, finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting and was named an All-Star.

His production never quite improved from there, though, and he went from a possible star to more of a role player.

While Heyward hasn't been named to an All-Star team since his rookie year, he went on to win five Gold Glove Awards and won a World Series with the Cubs in 2016.

All told, Heyward has appeared in 1,766 career regular-season games, hitting .257 with 180 home runs, 709 RBI and 124 steals.

Getting DFA'ed by the Dodgers meant having to leave one of MLB's top World Series contenders, but the Astros are contenders in their own right.

Houston is trending toward its eighth consecutive playoff appearance and fourth straight American League West division title.

The Astros have overcome a slow start to the season to compile a 70-61 record, giving them a 3.5-game lead in the AL West over the Seattle Mariners.

The 2017 and 2022 World Series champions have dealt with some injury issues this season with none bigger than star outfielder Kyle Tucker, who has been out since early June with a shin injury.

While there is hope for Tucker to return in September, he has yet to begin running the bases, per general manager Dana Brown (h/t CBS Sports).

Houston's infield and designated hitter Yordan Alvarez have led the way offensively in Tucker's absence, but an outfield comprised of Jake Meyers, Mauricio Dubón, Chas McCormick and Ben Gamel has lagged behind significantly.

Heyward gives the Houston outfield a veteran presence and a much-needed left bat given that Meyers, Dubón and McCormick all hit right-handed.

The Houston Astros starting rotation is set to get a major boost with a long-awaited return.

Per ESPN, Astros ace Justin Verlander is scheduled to be removed from the injured list after recovering from a neck injury and start the finale of a three-game set against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday. It will mark his first start since June 9.

Verlander was placed on IL after experiencing stiffness in his neck. It was his second stint on the injured list this season after he opened the year on the shelf due to right shoulder inflammation. In 10 starts, the 41-year-old went 3-2 with a 3.95 ERA and 51 strikeouts.

"It's big getting JV on the mound. It's getting one of the best back in there," Astros manager Joe Espada said. "We know what he means. We know he's part of this winning culture and getting him back is a big boost for our team, especially down the stretch."

Verlander made two rehab starts in the minor leagues, most recently throwing 57 pitches in four innings for Double-A Corpus Christi on Thursday. Espada addressed whether he will be on a pitch count on Wednesday since his last rehab outing was so short.

"We'll see how the outing goes and how efficient he is," Espada said. "I don't want to put a number because he can surprise us. But we're going to keep a close eye on his workload for sure."

Getting Verlander back comes at a crucial time for Houston, which has embarked on a stretch of 18 straight days without an off day. Espada said the team will use at least a six-man rotation to make it through that.

The Astros (67-56) have won 10 of their last 11 games entering Monday's matchup against the Red Sox and lead the AL West by four games.

The Houston Astros announced that they will be selling the team's iconic 1999 batting practice hats in the official Team Store in center field at Minute Maid Park.

The BP hat was a spinoff of the team's late-1990s gameday hats. The team's colors were dark blue and gold then, a dramatic shift from when the Astros wore their infamous orange-and-yellow rainbow jerseys.

That 1999 Astros team featured a pair of Hall of Famers (Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio), one of the game's all-time best closers (Billy Wagner), two 20-game winners (José Lima, Mike Hampton) and an MVP winner (Ken Caminiti). Houston won the NL Central after going 97-65 but fell to the eventual pennant-winning Atlanta Braves in the NLDS.

The Houston Astros designated relief pitcher Rafael Montero for assignment on Wednesday, according to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle, opening up roster spots for Yusei Kikuchi and Caleb Ferguson after Seth Martinez was also sent down to Triple-A.

Montero was in the second season of a three-year, $34.5 million deal.

It has not been a banner year for the veteran reliever.

Montero has made 41 appearances out of the bullpen this season, going 1-2 with a 4.70 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 23 strikeouts in 38.1 innings. Opponents have a .809 OPS against him. For context, opponents had a .449 OPS against him in 2021 and a .535 OPS against him in 2022, though it jumped to .835 last season.

Not the sort of production Houston was expecting for $11.5 million a season.

It also isn't the first big name the Astros have designated for assignment this year. In June, José Abreu suffered the same fate in the second year of a three-year, $58.5 million deal. He was hitting .124 with two homers, seven RBI and a minuscule .361 OPS in 35 games.

The Astros pivoted at the trade deadline in an effort to reach the postseason, adding Kikuchi to the starting rotation and Ferguson to the bullpen.

"I think our deadline was very strong," general manager Dana Brown told reporters. "We feel very confident that we stabilized the rotation, added to the back half (of) the pen where we had rode those guys real hard early in the season. We feel very confident that we did what we needed to do at this deadline."

Houston is currently 55-52, just a game back of the AL West-leading Seattle Mariners (57-52) but four games back for the final Wild Card spot.

The Houston Astros are reportedly adding a starting pitcher to their rotation.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Astros are acquiring left-handed start pitcher Yusei Kikuchi from the Toronto Blue Jays. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal first reported that the Astros were "close to acquiring" starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi from the Toronto Blue Jays.

Rosenthal also reported that the Blue Jays are expected to land rookie starter Jake Bloss in return. SportsNet's Ben Nicholson-Smith added that Toronto will get left fielder Joey Loperfido and infielder Will Wagner.

Loperfido made his debut this season and has two homers, 16 RBI and a .236 batting average. Wagner was listed as the No. 13 prospect in the Astros system, per MLB.com.

Bloss, a third-round pick in the 2023 MLB draft who made his debut in June, has struggled through his first three starts with a 6.94 ERA and 1.63 WHIP across 11.2 innings pitched. He was slated to start for Houston on Monday but was scratched shortly before the start of the game.

The Blue Jays bringing in a young arm comes as they sit at the bottom of the AL East at 49-57 on the year. While Bloss has pitched just three times thus far, Toronto saw something that intrigued it enough to give him away for a veteran pitcher.

FanGraphs gives the Blue Jays just a 1.0 percent chance to make the postseason, so making moves that will help them build for the future seems like the right move.

Kikuchi, in his sixth major league season, hasn't had the best start with a 4.75 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 4-9 record through 22 starts, but perhaps being on a new team will give him a boost. He's coming off the best season of his career that saw him notch a career-high 3.86 ERA while recording an 11-6 record.

The addition of Kikuchi comes as the Astros rotation has been depleted by injuries. Justin Verlander has missed more than a month with a neck issue, while both Cristian Javier and José Urquidy are out for the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Luis Garcia is also still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

Even with the rotation injuries, Houston has surged this summer and sits at the top of the AL West at 55-50. Now adding some depth to the rotation, the Astros will look to make a deep postseason run.

The Houston Astros roared back from a 10-game deficit to surpass the Seattle Mariners for the top spot in the AL West, but it is not enough to lead the division shortly after the All-Star break. The team closest to a modern dynasty understands the grueling road to the World Series more than any other in MLB and according to reports, is eyeing players who can get them there.

MLB.com's Jon Morosi reported that the team is discussing a trade for Tigers right-handed pitcher Jack Flaherty.

Astros starter Ronel Blanco has been excellent in 2024, with an ERA of just 2.75 and 105 strikeouts. He also has an April no-hitter, with two other close calls to go along with it this season.

Framber Valdez has been steady and Hunter Brown leads the team in Ks with 118, making for a fairly talented rotation. Throw in reliever Josh Hader and there is already plenty to like about Astros pitching in 2024.

A neck injury has sidelined future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander since mid-June. With no guarantee that he will return to the dominant force he has long been on the mound, the team could use one more veteran arm to round things out and further strengthen their rotation in the back half of the season.

Add in the fact that Cristian Javier and José Urquidy are both currently on the 60-day IL and you have a team that needs another veteran presence in the starting rotation.

Enter Flaherty, who has enjoyed a career renaissance this year for the Tigers.

The 28-year-old out of Burbank, California has seven wins in 18 appearances, an ERA of 2.95, a boatload of strikeouts at 133, and a WHIP of 0.93. Opponents on-base percentage is .253 and he is averaging 11.22 strikeouts per nine innings, an impressive number for anyone.

Most impressive might be his 1.27 home runs per nine innings and 1.60 walks per nine, indicating some of the best control of his career.

He has had a strong season for a bad Tigers team and figures to be one of the most sought-after pieces in the trade market ahead of the July 31 deadline.

Adding him to the roster enhances the Astros' chances of returning to the World Series and making it two out of the last three.

Offense may be all of the rage in the Majors these days but pitching and being able to slow those bats is still the root of any championship campaign. Houston knows and already has a strong starting rotation, and is looking to improve it in pursuit of its next title.

It is wise to look into someone like Flaherty, who is hot and can hopefully keep it up, especially when the greatest threat to the Astros winning their division is a Seattle team with a seemingly nonexistent offense.

Bring in Flaherty, add him to the mix, and hope to have back Urquidy and Javier in time for the late-season stretch. If so, the Astros will have all the firepower they need from the mound to go on a legitimate run and, potentially, win a third World Series title since 2017.

The Houston Astros are reportedly eyeing a pair of starting pitchers ahead of the MLB trade deadline.

Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the Astros are "actively considering" a trade for Chicago White Sox starter Erick Fedde while Detroit Tigers' Jack Flaherty has been the center of trade discussions between Houston and Detroit.

Morosi also noted that the White Sox are more likely to trade Fedde if they do not deal starting pitcher Garrett Crochet.

Fedde, who returned to the majors this season after a one-year stint in the KBO, has had a strong year on the mound, posting 104 strikeouts, a 2.98 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP in 20 starts. While Crochet is the standout of the White Sox's rotation, Fedde is a solid starter at a friendly price tag.

Flaherty is having one of the best seasons of his career with 133 strikeouts, a 2.92 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP in 18 starts. Like Chicago, Detroit has another enticing starter in the bullpen in Tarik Skubal, but a trade for Flaherty is more realistic.

Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reported while the Tigers won't move Skubal unless they receive a "franchise-changing offer," they intend to trade Flaherty ahead of Tuesday's deadline.

The Astros currently sit atop the AL West at 53-49 on the year, but adding another starter to help improve their lackluster 4.02 team ERA might be necessary to make a deep postseason run. Houston is also in need of some rotation help with Cristian Javier, Jose Urquidy and J.P. France out for the year and Justin Verlander, Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. also dealing with injuries this season.