It’s amazing to me that so many Astros fans that are freaking out seem to be ignoring the fact that there is an entire World Series caliber rotation on the I.L. right now.
1) Verlander
2) Valdez
3) McCullers
4) Garcia
5) Urquidy
Getting just 2 or 3 of these guys back solves 80% of your problems, especially since Javier looks like he has found his ‘23 first half magic and Blanco is found money (at least for the time being).
Once JV, Framber and at least 1 of the other arms come back the Astros will be getting a steady 5-6 innings from their starters, thus their bully isn’t going to be taxed. This means that now all Espada has to worry about (most of the time) is innings 6/7 and some situational managing, instead of just running anyone and everyone out there to for innings 3-9 just to finish the game.
In case you’re wondering, I’m hearing/seeing/reading the following return dates for each:
JV – Washington Series (4/19 – 4/21)
Valdez – late April/early May
McCuller – July / Post All-Star break
Garcia – Post All-Star break
Urquidy – late May/ early June
So to quote a great and famous sports philosopher, “R-E-L-A-X”.