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.

Houston recalled Logan VanWey from Sugar Land and optioned Colton Gordon to Triple-A to bolster a bullpen used heavily in a 12-inning loss to Texas. VanWey, a rookie with a 5.59 ERA in eight MLB outings, adds a fresh arm for a relief corps that was stretched in extra innings.

Colton Gordon was recalled to start Friday, replacing Spencer Arrighetti, who went on the IL with elbow inflammation. A.J. Blubaugh has delivered long-relief value (3.06 ERA in 17⅔ IP). The Astros are sticking with a six-man rotation to rest Cristian Javier and Luis García after their returns from Tommy John rehab; Arrighetti’s season ends with intact UCL and follow-up imaging planned.