Houston’s offseason plan centers on preserving core stability while addressing two free-agent questions. Framber Valdez and Victor Caratini are the only consequential free agents from the current roster, with Valdez anchoring the rotation and Caratini handling catching. The rest of the star core—Altuve, Alvarez, Peña, and Brown among others—remains under team control for the near term, creating room to balance extensions, arbitration, and payroll without a full rebuild.

Beyond Valdez and Caratini, the horizon features a mix of arbitration-eligible depth and aging or longer-term contracts. Key decisions will revolve around how aggressively Houston retains or replaces pieces like Abreu, Dubón, Urías, and McCullers, while mapping out long-term commitments for a championship window that runs through the late 2020s and into 2030s via extensions and option structure.

Luis Garcia will miss the 2026 season after announcing that he’ll undergo surgery to address right elbow issues. The Houston Astros’ rotation depth takes another hit after Garcia’s turbulent return from Tommy John surgery, including a September win over the Angels and a brief, troubling exit in Toronto. The club has already absorbed elbow surgeries for Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski, Brandon Walter, and John Rooney this season, heightening concerns about innings and frontline upside as Houston heads into salary-arbitration territory with Garcia’s future in question.

Garcia’s resume shows 56 starts across 2021-22 with a 26-16 record and a solid 3.60 ERA, underscoring the potential value he carried when healthy. The trajectory now shifts toward internal depth and strategic roster moves as the Astros chart a path through an injury-plagued year and re-evaluate how to cover innings behind a thinner rotation.

Brandon Walter underwent UCL reconstruction after elbow inflammation, ending nine starts this season with a 3.35 ERA. He joins a Houston elbow-surgery cluster that includes Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski (Tommy John) in the first half and reliever John Rooney, who had elbow surgery recently.

Fantasy managers should watch Houston's rotation depth and bullpen usage as rehab unfolds, with return timelines uncertain and younger arms stepping in.

Lance McCullers Jr. shifted to a bullpen role for the Astros, his first relief appearance since 2018, as Houston tries to reenergize a bumpy return from a lengthy rehab.

Houston framed the move as short-term, designed to sharpen command and buy McCullers innings in tight spots, with the group around him—Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Hunter Brown, and Spencer Arrighetti—providing depth as they navigate a crowded rotation while injuries linger.