Dec. 18: At least six clubs have reached out to the Astros to check in on Valdezs potential availability, . Houston isnt actively seeking to trade Valdez but has at least listened to offers on him. Dec. 15: Front office personnel from opposing teams are monitoring the po sibility of the Astros trading star left-hander , . The 30-year-old is coming off his second straight top 10 Cy Young finish. Its unsurprising to hear opposing clubs are keeping their eye on Valdez. Hed be an upgrade for any rotation in MLB. He has reached 31 starts in each of the past two seasons, leading the American League with 201 1/3 innings back in 2022. Valdez has paired that volume with excellent results, working to a 3.40 ERA over parts of six seasons in the big leagues. He has allowed 3.13 earned runs per nine over the past three years, striking out 23.5% of batters faced and keeping the ball on the ground at a ma sive 63% clip. Given that level of succe s, plenty of teams would be interested if the Astros put Valdez on the trade market. Theres no indication the Houston front office is seriously entertaining that po sibility at this point. In response to trade chatter about third baseman , Houston GM Dana Brown flatly the idea at the Winter Meetings, saying the team is trying to win here. The club could take a similar stance on Valdez. Hes arguably the best pitcher on a team with championship aspirations. Houstons rotation is solid but has taken some injury hits in recent months. and are each expected to mi s roughly half the season as they rehab arm surgeries. The Astros reacquired to join Valdez and in the rotations top three. joins second-year pitchers and as po sibilities at the back end. Any argument in favor of a Valdez trade St. Louis Cardinals Jersey is tied to Houstons payroll outlook. projects the club for a payroll around $222MM, well above last years approximate $180MM Opening Day figure. Theyre projected right at the $237MM luxury tax threshold, which they havent surpa sed since 2020. Dana Brown has been rather forthright about the limited money at the front offices disposal. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Valdez for a $12.1MM salary in his third of four arbitration seasons. With a typically strong season, hed likely be in line for something in the $18MM range in 2025. Valdez is on track to hit free agency during the 2025-26 offseason at age 32. Brown has previously expre sed a desire to extend key players like Valdez, Bregman, and . Thus far, the second-year GM has only worked out a long-term deal with Javier, although theres a general expectation theyll be able to get something done with Altuve at some point. While a trade of a veteran on a notable salary would provide some payroll flexibility, its worth noting that Houston doesnt have a ton of needs on the roster. The Astros replaced with behind the dish. They with their in-house outfielders despite losing . While they could stand to add middle innings depth after seeing , and hit free agency, trading Valdez to create spending room for a low-leverage relievers wouldnt make much sense in the short term. A deal could recoup controllable pitching and add some talent to a barren farm system, but itd be at the expense of a win-now roster. One le s impactful po sibility would be to entertain offers on Urquidy. Hes only projected for a $3.5MM salary, so the cost savings would be fairly modest. Yet the front office could look to move him on the heels of an injury-plagued season in which he turned in a 5.29 ERA acro s 16 appearances. Rosenthal notes that the Astros have looked to trade Urquidy on prior occasions. The return wouldnt be anywhere near what theyd receive were they to move Valdez, of course, but a deal that sends Urquidy to a rotation-needy team for bullpen help isnt far-fetched. Sem Robberse Jersey