The Houston Astros faced a ton of pitching issues this season, but their bad luck started before they even took the field.
Kendall Graveman underwent a right shoulder surgery back in January of this year that took him out for the entire 2024 season. Given his contract situation, Graveman may have thrown his last pitch in an Astros uniform (for now).
The veteran reliever is set to become an unrestricted free agent after playing just over 20 games after being acquired via trade at the 2023 MLB deadline.
The trade ended up not being too much of a flop for Houston, even though they got him for just half a season as opposed to a full year and a half.
In order to bring Graveman in from the Chicago White Sox, all they gave up was catcher Korey Lee.
Yainer Diaz has taken the reins of the catcher position for the foreseeable future after showing a ton of potential at the plate over the last two seasons.
Lee has not done much at the plate since joining the White Sox, a similar story to his time with the Astros. He’s posted a .190/.228/.317 slashing line since the deal was made.
At least when Graveman took the mound for Houston, he was playing as advertised. In 23 appearances to close out the 2023 season he posted a 2.42 ERA.
When healthy, he pumps in a solid fastball and causes a fair amount of whiffs and weak contact. He does have a bit of an issue with walks, but he can usually get out of any jams that are created.
The Astros could have absolutely used a healthy version of Graveman this past season as their bullpen was just ok. As a staff, they ranked No. 24 in WAR and No. 22 in FIP.
If there’s anything that could point to him coming back, it’s his potential price and the fact that Houston clearly has an interest in him as a player.
Next year will be his age 34 season. His last contract netted him $24 million over three years. Given his age and the fact that he hasn’t pitched in over a year, he likely won’t command that AAV again.
The Astros have also now traded for him twice since the middle of the 2021 season. Houston could make sense as a spot to build his stock back up in a familiar location.
