Saturday, November 01

HOUSTON -- With the World Series set to end in the coming days, free agency will begin next week, and the Hot Stove will fire up for the winter. This should be an interesting offseason for the Astros, who missed the playoffs -- by one game -- for the first time since 2016 and will be looking to retool for 2026.

Here are a few things to know before it begins:

Which players are set to become free agents?

Left-hander Framber Valdez, catcher Victor Caratini, second baseman Brendan Rodgers and reliever Craig Kimbrel will be free agents.

Are any of them likely to receive a qualifying offer, and what is the deadline for that?

The only candidate to get a qualifying offer is Valdez, who’s a free agent for the first time and one of the top starting pitchers on the market. The deadline for teams to extend a qualifying offer is the fifth day after the World Series ends, and players have until 3 p.m. CT on Nov. 18 to accept or reject it.

If Valdez accepts a qualifying offer, he will be under contract for $22.025 million for 2026. If he rejects it, he’s a free agent and can sign with any team. The Astros would receive Draft-pick compensation in next year’s MLB Draft if he signs elsewhere.

Which players are eligible for salary arbitration?

Utility man Mauricio Dubón; left-handed pitchers Steven Okert and Bennett Sousa; right-handed pitchers Luis Garcia, Bryan Abreu, Enyel De Los Santos, Hunter Brown and Hayden Wesneski; infielders Ramón Urías and Isaac Paredes; shortstop Jeremy Peña; catcher Yainer Diaz; and outfielders Jesús Sánchez, Chas McCormick, Jake Meyers and Taylor Trammell are all arbitration-eligible.

Who might be a non-tender candidate, and when do the Astros have to make that decision?

Garcia, who recently had a second Tommy John surgery and will be out until 2027, is a likely non-tender, along with McCormick and Trammell, who have slid down the outfield depth chart. The Astros have two utility players who are arbitration-eligible in Dubón and Urias. Houston could non-tender Urias, but he also would have trade value to other clubs.

The non-tender deadline is Nov. 21. If a club does not tender a contract to a player, he becomes a free agent.

Who needs to be added to the 40-man roster this winter to avoid the Rule 5 Draft, and do they have a crunch for roster spots?

The big name is right-hander Miguel Ullola (the Astros' No. 5 prospect, per MLB Pipeline), who went 7-6 with a 3.88 ERA and struck out 131 batters in 113 2/3 innings in 28 appearances (23 starts) with Triple-A Sugar Land. He’s a lock to be added to the 40-man. Right-handers Alimber Santa (No. 13) and Jose Fleury (No. 17) are the team’s other Top 30 prospects who will have to be added to the 40-man roster.

Other names to watch are outfielder Colin Barber (Houston's fourth-round pick in 2019), outfielder Tyler Whitaker (third round, 2021) and right-handers Alex Santos (second round, 2020), Trey Dombroski (fourth round, 2022) and Andrew Taylor (second round, 2022).

These decisions need to be made by Nov. 18.

The Astros’ 40-man roster is full after signing right-handed pitcher Nate Pearson to a one-year deal on Oct. 21, and they have several players on the 60-day injured list who must be added to the 40-man following the World Series, including: right-handers Ronel Blanco, Luis Garcia, Kaleb Ort, John Rooney and Hayden Wesneski; left-hander Brandon Walter; and infielder/outfielder Zach Dezenzo.

What kind of help do the Astros need, and will they be active in free agency? Who might they target?

Houston will be in search of starting pitching help this winter, with Valdez likely departing in free agency and several others (including Blanco and Wesneski) dealing with injuries that will keep them out well into 2026. Expect the Astros to make a run at workhorse free-agent right-hander Dylan Cease, whom they tried to trade for in July. The club will cast a wide net for starting pitching, so expect the Astros to have at least some preliminary interest in most of the big names on the market. Don’t be surprised to see them add a relief pitcher or two as well. General manager Dana Brown is on the record saying he wants Caratini to return.

Who might they be willing to trade?

Urías and Sánchez, who came over in separate trades in July, could have value. They’re arbitration-eligible, and making a trade or two would help unlock the logjam of position players the Astros face and free up some payroll.

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