Astros Make Move, Sign KBO Standout Ryan Weiss to 1–2 Year Contract

Astros Make Move, Sign KBO Standout Ryan Weiss to 1–2 Year Contract

Tonight on Locked on Astros, Houston adds a new arm, Ryan Weiss. Fresh off a dominant run with the KBO. A power righty with swing and miss stuff joins the mix as the Astros continue shaping their offseason blueprint. And we’re going to talk about the latest hot stove chaos around the MLB. Let’s start right now. Jas, this is Locked On Astros. Hello and welcome to Locked on Astros, your daily Astros podcast. Here are your hosts, Eric the Man Heisman, and Brett Htown Wheelhouse Chansy. We are Locked on Houston Astros. We hope that you join us for a daily locked on Astros podcast. My name is Eric Heisman. Find me on X Eric Talks. You find Brett at HL Warehouse. You can find the Lockdown Astros podcast as part of your daily routine. Whether it’s on YouTube, go and subscribe to us. Go and make us first listen. Apple Odyssey, Spotify, wherever you listen your podcast, go and check us out. We are part of the number one podcast network out there, the Locked on Podcast Network, and we are the number one Astros podcast out there. Thank you for making us your first listen. Apple Odyssey, Spotify, wherever you’re listening to podcast, thank you for checking us out. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. If you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit fanduel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long season long. So, I know the Astros sign, they finally made do with what uh we’ve been talking about for about a week. Uh they signed Ryan Weiss. Uh this is something that I know that a lot of people would be like, who? But we’ll talk about who he is and why this makes sense for Houston Astros. and uh it’s a option for it’s um a contract for 2026 with a team option for 2027. We’ll talk about what that means. Are they done shopping for a starting pitcher uh for the rest of this off season? And we’ll briefly talk about the draft as the MLB release the basically the first round of the draft. Things could change as uh picks are as the qualifying offer players are signed elsewhere, but we kind of know where the Astros will be picking in the first round. So, we’ll talk about that a little bit later. Yeah, definitely. And we will like to have those first round picks and we like to have that commence pick given to us from the PPI um you know, rules in baseball. And thank you, Hunter Brown. The team needed that. Uh, you know, after missing the first and second round for those two seasons, that is still something that is real. And, you know, this this club, Eric, is really at a precipice. It is at a point of where does it go? Because we no longer can really rely on the guys that we brought through our system. A lot of them are gone, but we have Koreah and Altuve back. And so, are these the two guys that are going to be the core that bring in guys when they bring in Weiss, when they make a trade, if they make a bigger arm move, which I think they will, um, Koreah and Altuve will be the guys that will be the glue that I think they they build around and that will fortify a team because I think they want to win the division, but I don’t know if they’re if their aspirations are beyond that. So, let’s talk about Ryan Weiss. Ryan Weiss fits perfectly. Not only does he fit monetarily because it’s not a big signing, it’s a guy that has improved his peripherals over the last two seasons when going to the KBO. And you absolutely love seeing an American pitcher go to a foreign league and absolutely dominate. And yeah, the KBO is not MLB and we know that. We don’t pretend that that’s true, but we know with the history of this club, with the pitching lab that the Houston Astros are known for, that this is a signing that really could pay dividends. And look, this guy right here could be could be a starter. This guy could be an innings eater um in middle relief. We’ll have to see how the Astros will use him. Um I’m just excited that that they’re getting a guy that has improved a lot of things. Well, I think what you’re getting in Weiss, you’re getting somebody that’s shown a lot of growth over his time. He got to Triple A with the Diamondbacks and then and the Royals. So, he never really got to big leagues, then he went overseas to Grant and uh this is something that he developed. He kind of learned how to master his pitching style. He knew that he couldn’t out uh pitch them. So, you have that 93 to 94 miles per hour fastball. Then you have the um the second pitch they primary relies on is that slider. And so you have that. Then you have of course the curve ball, the change up. I’ve read that he also has occasional fork ball. So he has pretty much four or five pitches that he can throw. And this is a guy that with the change of speeds, you can kind of um fool some hitters. And yes, like you mentioned, think of um the KBO as a quadruple A. Uh if AAA is where the Space Cowboys are, just imagine Oakland or sorry, Sacramento, wherever they are. No, I’m just kidding. Uh that would be the quadruple A team. But um it just yes, there are some good players over there, but same time, Cody Pounce, um he s signed a three-year deal with the Rays, sorry, the Blue Jays today. And so these it’s not they’re getting noticed. So if you’re going overseas and you’re having success especially like bounce did I mean he was struck out what 259 hitters last year and 100 innings. So if you have some success overseas teams are going to go and give you some money. So the the gave Weiss 2.6 6 million guaranteed in 2026. And with the team option for 2027, it could get up to 10 million. So 7 million, seven something uh for the uh next for 2027 basically. Yeah, exactly. Um you know, Ryan Weiss, this guy, 207 strikeouts and 178 in one half innings pitched in the KBO. Um, one of the things I like, Eric, one of the things I don’t like is pitchers who walk a lot. This guy improved. He had control issues, but he improved. He post Look at that. 2.8 base on balls per nine inning. That’s that’s great. That is that is a great um stat. And to go along with that, his KS per nine 10 point 10.4 as a starter. I I mean that is a strong set of statistics. And look, he’s got movement. Um he’s got a sweeper. He moves through the zone. He’s got swing and miss stuff. And earlier um I saw one of our commenters, uh JRob, he he’s usually on here and he was asking about how hard he throws, but I need to say that it really doesn’t matter how hard you throw. It matters where the ball moves in the zone because well, exactly. Because if the ball’s moving hard through the zone, but there’s no movement, it’s going to get hit. Whether it’s 103 miles an hour or 93 miles an hour, it’s going to get hit. So, it’s about movement and it’s about getting that ball in the zone to where it rises up in the zone. And apparently from what other players are saying is that it is absolut he is he is a nasty pitcher. He’s got good stuff and he missed a lot of bats and I don’t see why he wouldn’t have that that kind of success over here. Um I know better hitters. I know better league. Obviously the best of the best play Major League Baseball, but this I think is a great signing. There’s a lot of people that are like, “Ah, whatever, man. I wanted Rangers Suarez and I wanted this guy.” Hey, just pump the brakes a little bit, kids. We still have the winter meetings coming up this weekend and we don’t know what they are or aren’t going to do. There are still possibilities out there. This isn’t the only guy they’re going to add because they need more pitching. And according to Warren Rome, uh, this is Haime. He’s saying this, but um, the Astro senior director of amateur scouting, uh, Derek Landinger, he actually drafted Weiss back in 2018 when he was with the Diamondbacks. So, he knows perfectly well what he’s capable of because he actually drafted him. So, of course, um he’s a little bit older. He’s a little bit more developed. So, this is a lowrisk, high reward type of opportunity. The Astros went out and got Nate Pearson earlier. Um another high a lowrisk, high reward type of guy. You’re not paying him a lot, but if he succeeds, then this fills a role, a need that the Astros have. you have a um from Valdez, no matter what you think about him, he filled he ate up a lot of innings. He was a good pitcher for the Houston Astros. And so you cannot fill him with one guy unless you’re going to go out there and spend a lot of money like the um the basically the Rays, sorry, I keep on trying to say the race. The Jay’s said uh did with um with Dylan CE and it wasn’t really as bad as we thought it was. We’ll talk about Dylan CE’s actual contract in a little bit. But uh what he’s coming for is for rotation depth. Maybe he if he doesn’t succeed at that then put him in the bullpen. But this is another option that Joe Espatada has because before this you really didn’t have a lot. But now you have a guy that has some success overseas. Yes. But give this guy a chance. See what he could do in spring training. And next we’ll go and talk about even we’ll talk about why some more. But what happens if he um does if he is successful? Are the Astros really going to stop shopping right now? I don’t think so. We’ll talk about that next. Thank you for making Lockdown Astros podcast your first listen every day. That’s right. This episode is brought to you by FanDuel. FanDuel.com is here for you today. And you know NFL Sunday moves fast. One big play. Suddenly everything feels different. That’s what makes live betting with FanDuel so exciting. You’re not just watching the game. You’re reacting to the game in real time. With FanDuel, you can place bets as action unfolds. Every drive, every momentum swing, every highlight momentum, like every Derek Stingley Jr. interception, or every CJ Stout touchdown, live betting is best when the game starts to shift. And when a receiver gets hot or the Texans are going for their fifth straight win against Kansas City this week, you’ve got live spreads and money lines that adjust instantly. Player props updates a guys as guys heat up. You can you can bet on when Woody Mark’s next touchdown is going to be or Nick Chub or Nico Collins. I mean, the sky’s is the limit. It keeps you locked in every snap, every drive, every possibility. So, if you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit fanuel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long, FanDuel. The game most the game moves fast and so can you. Hey guys, thank you for making us the part of the number one podcast network out there. Locked on. We are the number one Astros podcast out there and thank you for making us your first listen. Apple Odyssey, Spotify, wherever you listen your podcast. Go and check us out. We’re going to be here all off seasonason between Brad and I. We have over 18 years of podcasting experience. And we will be here to kind of talk you through this off season. It’s going to be a weird one. Instead of going out and spending 210 million on Dylan CE, you’re going to go ahead and go out and get people like Nate Pearson and then also uh Weiss like the Astros did today, too. So, it’s just going to be a situation like uh a weird just a weird off season. So, uh we’ll see what happens over uh the Astros just have to figure out where to go from here. And um Brett, I wanted to ask you with the the signing of Weiss now that it’s official official or I guess it’s not official because the Astros have not announced it yet. Uh do you think the Astros are done? Oh, heck no. No, there’s there’s absolutely no way. Not with the way that Jake Meyers is on the trading block. Not with them needing a frontline starter. This does not replace Valdez. That is the glaring hole in this rotation. It’s not that you have Hunter Brown. It’s not that you have other guys in there. Eric Getty, um Jason Alexander, um Christian Javier, Lance McCullers Jr. No, those are not the guys that are going to fill those holes. You’ve got that that hole of the 180 plus innings with Frober Valdez, possibly 200 innings. Now, can someone like a Ryan Weiss be that guy? He can be the part of the puzzle to being that guy, but he is not that guy. They absolutely, I think, have to go out and get a starter that is going to be a two or a three guy at the very least, Eric. Um, that is that is how I see this. Um, this team can ill afford to go forward. Now, if they’re shortsighted and their only goal is to win the division, then maybe you go get a position player, a left-handed bat, um, someone like Arise that’s a free agent, someone like Brennan Donovan who they’re talking to, and then you call it good and hope everybody makes it to the post. But I I I hope they’re not that shortsighted because I think the I think the the pump is being primed right now for them to go out and get somebody. The question is, do you go after someone with that qualifying offer? Do you then want to go after somebody who’s going to demand a long contract? And I don’t think you can. If you can find a guy, that’ll take a three-year deal. Now, I will say this because you mentioned the Blue Jays signing the other KBO pitcher. If the Blue Jays sign Ponz, right? He’s up there three years, $30 million, and then this guy that we get Weiss comes in and just tears up the league, Dana Brown is going to look like a genius. Dana Brown has been heavily criticized for his moves and non-m moves. Uh um you know, I was I I was hearkened back to game six of the 2022 World Series when they reaired it on um MLB over the Thanksgiving holiday. And I and I’m just going to drop this in there. Listening to um listening to James Click talk about the World Series win and the team and the guys, I was like, how is that guy still not the GM? How does that guy win a World Series and get let go? Like, are the egos that big? I I just But we’re here. We can’t go in the past. We can’t We can’t bring guys back that we let go. We can’t do that. We’ve got to go forward. And so going forward, no. Absolutely not. There’s no way that this is all they do. They’ve got to go out and get more. Yeah. So, going back to what I was talking about earlier, the um kind of the numbers came out on Dylan Cease. We all thought that it was a $210 million deal straight up and that Dylan CE was making about $30 million per year, but that’s not exactly what it is. So, the Blue Jays reduced reduced the present day value to 184.6 million for to it’s about uh 26.4 million per season. That salary will be uh based on uh what’s the u going to be against the CBT. But the deal also um includes $23 million signing bonus. So that’s what kind of gets it down a little bit. But uh so $26.4 million. Um that’s not terrible. I still don’t think the Astros are going to go out there. If you’re looking at what the Astros have available, uh they have about $25 million right now. They’ve saved about $15.8 $8 million roughly this off season, but they’re they’re not going to go out there and spend all$25 million on a pitcher. So that’s why it’s very likely they’re going to go out there and try to make acquisition through a trade to kind of echo what you were saying. And that’s why Jake Meyers and even Jesus Sanchez, you’re going to hear these names a lot over the past next couple days. And a name that a lot of teams are going to be asking Dana Brown about, Brett, Mom and Close your ears, is Esacho Parades. Isach Fredes is a name that a lot of people are going to be asking for, especially after last year with um his contact rate um improving and just what he his patience and he’s exactly what the Astros need on this team. And uh Dana Brown said, “We don’t want to trade him. He carries too much value in their lineup. Trading him would weaken our lineup. But if you really want to go out and get that game changer to kind of go behind Hunter Brown, you got to do something. I think that they are going to go and get someone like a Michael King who’s not going to command 26 million. Okay. Um, and you can play that contract out in in a bunch of different ways. Um, and I’m I’m going to say this about the Jake Myers trade. Jake Meyers to me is worth more to the Astros on the team than he is on the trading block to somebody else. Yeah, I know they’ve tried to make this center field like yes, there are a lot of needs for center field and I know we kind of made made that but the more I talked and I talked to my friend Mark today and we were going back and forth about different things the Astros could and couldn’t do and we came to a consensus. Jake Myers is worth more to the Astros here than he is being traded. Unless you put him in some deal where there’s other players and you’re losing other assets. Like you’re including Yiner Diaz. Like you’re including guys that you know the Astros don’t really want to consider trading. But I think Parades stays because the very reason you stated at the end um is that he’s too reliable. Now they’re going to listen to anybody. They’ve always they’ve kind of said o over the last year nobody’s safe like everybody’s on the table which we know is hogwash because we know they aren’t they aren’t looking to trade trade out. They’re not going to trade Alt. They’re not going to trade Yordon. They’re not going to trade Pena. Um they’re obviously not going to trade Koreah because they’re stuck with that contract regardless. But I do think that the Astros will and do have something up their sleeve. I’m not saying that they’re going to wow us. I’m not saying that they’re going to make you all excited and that you’re going to be super happy with it because Astros fans seem to always be pleasantly disappointed around winter ball or winter meeting season. So, I guess only time will tell, Eric, with what the Astros actually do. Are they going for the division or are they going for the World Series with the looming um lockout coming after the 2026 season or are they going for the participation trophy? I we’ll never Oh my god, Eric. Wamp wamp. Good lord. So, um when we get back, we’ll go ahead and talk about the draft because the it seems like the first round picks are set um before the qualifying offers. We’ll go and talk about that. We’ll talk a little bit more about Michael Keane and we’ll go and talk about this and more on the Lockown Astros podcast. Thank you for making us your first listen every day. Hey guys, thank you for making Lock on Astros podcast your first listen. Whether it’s on YouTube, go and subscribe to us. Go and make his first listen. Apple, Odyssey, Spotify, wherever you listen on podcast, go and check us out. My name is Eric Heisman. He is Brett Chansy. We are the Lock on Astros podcast. We are part of the number one podcast network out there. We are the number one Astros podcast out there. Uh we will be here walking you through whatever chaos happens this off seasonason, but we do know that the Astros are going to have to get creative. They were creative last year trading Kyle Tucker for a whole bunch of assets and the Astros are um hoping to hold on to some of those assets and make them become a part of the Astros future. And I know that um they’re gonna have to be creative again because they don’t have Jim Crane seems like he’s really serious this time about staying underneath the luxury tax threshold. And so you have to look for these bargain bin players. So before we go into the draft, I I want want to kind of go back to Michael Keane. According to Sprak, his market value is about 23 million per year. So, he’s looking for about a four-year deal, 91 about $92 million per season. So, um about kind of a little bit less than what Dylan Se got. I think Dylan CE got a lot of money just to go play with the Blue Jays. Um just and he’s not that great a pitcher anymore. He has that high upside, but I think that Michael Keane has more of a what have you done for me recently? So, I think that you can go out there and get him for cheap, just not pennies on dollar. No, not pennies on the dollar. But to me, he’s just a guy that fits Eric. And you know what? If I’ve got to lose a fourth or fifth round pick at this point, I really don’t care because the Astros farm system isn’t exactly turning heads and they’re not exactly producing top 100 prospects at every angle. Now, I will say this. Um, I got a sneak peek of your um interview with Colin Price. I watched a little bit of it that you recorded. Y’all are going to have to watch it. Eric did a phenomenal job interviewing Colin. Um really really cool listening to him. I I I love his perspective. But um with with with someone like you know Weiss, like we mentioned Pearson earlier with these little small moves, intricral moves, this these are small pieces to a bigger puzzle. And and I I just think that because they made the decision for Frober Valdez to walk, the Astros had to have in mind that we are going to have to like, okay, like I’m I’m Dana Brown and you’re Jim Crane. And I’m like, look, Jim, here’s the deal. We’re not going to offer From a deal he wants. We’re gonna give him a qualifying offer so we get that pick. So when we do that, we are going to have to dip our toes a little bit into the deep end to get a quality pitcher. Now, we’re going to do our best not to go after a guy that wants seven or eight years, but if we get a four to five year guy and he’s solid and he’s got a good resume, that is a guy that we can build with Hunter Brown, that is a guy that we still got. Altuve here, Koreah. Look, Kareah wants another title. I know you want another title. So, let’s go get that pitcher because we lost Frobert. We exhausted him. We used him up and now he’s somebody else’s to deal with. So, what do you say? And I think that’s what he’s going to do. Um now, um thank you. I do want to I do want to throw this out there though, Eric. Um well, you know what? I’ll give you a tease for tomorrow night’s show um towards the end, but remind me because I’ve got a special guest coming on that I’m excited to tell the fans about. But what do you think, Eric? I I mean I mean don’t you think, Eric, let’s let’s hope upon hope. Let’s not be Debbie Downers. Don’t you think that that was a discussion that if they knew Frober was going to walk that they were like, “Okay, let’s start thinking who we’re going to replace him with.” Yeah, of course that that was already discussion last year, but they couldn’t they couldn’t get them Jim Crane a to up the Annie to go past seven year sorry five years to go past a certain amount for a pitcher. And so I just don’t know if you’re going to see them go out and just blow the socks off the pitcher like the Blue Jays did. They went out and said, “Hey, here’s we’re putting all our chips in. Take it or leave it.” and um whatever if that was a bluff um cease called him and now he’s playing for them. So um I think the Blue Jays saw that pitching helps you go to the World Series, helps you win the World Series and so they lost two big names. Um so they had to replace them so they did so. Um, so now the Astros are losing one pitcher, one pretty key pitcher in uh Valdez and you don’t really have that guide out there unless you’re going to go out there and make that trade a or go out there and sign somebody which I don’t know if they’re going to do what the history tells you they’re not going to go out there and do it. Yes, it is the history but it doesn’t have to be the future. Eric, it doesn’t have to be the way we go forward. Jim Crane. Confucious says, “Jim Crane, you love a good deal.” Jim Confucious says, “No, not Confucious.” But let me tell you something, Jim Crane. Let me let me give Jim Crane some motivational speaking right now. Jim Crane, come into the chapel of Wheelhouse right now. And let me tell you what you got to do. I know that you’re holding on to your pennies and I know that you’re sitting there thinking, “What about my bottom line?” Well, think about how big your bottom line could be if you go out and get a Michael King or a Ranger Suarez. Imagine the fruits that will be available to you in your club. Imagine the title. Taking the title from the Dodgers. How sweet would that be? I mean, what better revenge is there than going back to their house and beating them in their house again? Ranger Suarez, Michael King, these guys get you there. Go get a rise. Heck, I don’t care. Sell high. No, don’t sell high. Buy high. Sell low. Whatever. See you Jake Myers. See you whoever else. Bring us a World Series title. Come on. What do you say? Come into the Chapel of Wheelhouse and go get that big arm this year. All right. All right. Was that your TED talk? That was my TED talk. Hey, real quick while I’m pumped. Tomorrow night, guys, Daniel Kim, who is a KBO insider, an MLB contributor. You’ve seen him on the World Series. You’ve seen him on um um MLB Fox postseason. He’s going to join the show tomorrow night. So, y’all come hang out with myself, Daniel Kim. It’s going to be a really cool interview. We’re going to try to get some insights into these KBO pictures. It’ll be fun. All right, so let’s go and uh to switch over to the draft. I know that nothing’s totally official official yet, but as of right now, MLB released the kind of draft order right now. Things could change according to the draft lottery, but right now, the Astros hold the 15th overall pick and the 28th pick overall with the PPI pick that from Hunter Brown finishing third place and the Scion finished. Uh so let’s say that Bromemer Valdez does sign elsewhere, the Astros will possibly get a pick after the uh fourth round, not necessarily top 40. So um the don’t if if he signs elsewhere, don’t be thinking that we’re going to be getting a first round pick. But, uh, a bit of good news that Astros fans got today from Chandler Rome is that, um, let’s say the Astros did sign Michael Keane or a player with a qualifying offer attached, they will not have to give up that PPI pick. They would have to give up likely a second round pick. Oh, yeah. No, I mean, look, I don’t I don’t know why everybody’s been on this kick about we have to give up the pick that we got from Hunter Brown. That’s never been a thing. Like, we’re Where has this assumption come from that we’re going to lose that pick? Because it’s uh typically your second best pick, but this pick is tied to Hunter Brown. You can’t lose a pick that’s rewarded to you from one player and lose it from another player. That would make no sense. That would defeat the purpose of having a PPI pick. You know what I’m saying? That would there would be no way that the players would would agree to that. But I got some really cool stuff. The Astros have a.34% chance of getting the first overall pick. You know why? Because they didn’t make the playoffs. So, Eric, they could get the number one pick. Can you tell me there’s a chance? I’m telling you there’s a chance. Well, that’s good. I’m not going to I’m not going to get uh too excited there, but the Astros do have um two first round picks right now. they have more draft pool money. So, uh they can go ahead and go for like a high upside prep player and then go for more college depth, but they can go ahead and try to improve their farm system, which is lacking right now. Like, you have a you have some players, but you don’t have as deep of a farm system as some of these other teams do. So, maybe they can kind of catch up a little bit with the two first round picks. And so Dana Brown, the reason why the Astros brought you over here was to do the draft right. You got two first round picks. Don’t mess this up, bro. Yeah. Everybody’s like, “Hey, Dana, better not mess this one up.” Good lord. No pressure, man. Holy crap. Um, look, um, at at the end of the day, if you really want to maximize Jake Meyer’s value to another team, hey, you know what? Throw in Bryce Matthews. I I mean, why not? I mean, the kid’s got great upside, and honestly, if you trade him, it’ll probably help him in his career because right now, I don’t see an avenue for Bryce Matthews to play on this team very much, right? Um, unless they are planning on him being the guy that ends up at second base, but he came up and had a little taste, but he went back, you know, he was kind of back and forth a little bit. But Bryce Matthews may not be in their future plans. And if you want this kid to play and be a major leager, go ahead and put him in that package with Jake Myers and see see what you can get with that. All right, so for tomorrow’s show, um I don’t know if we’re going to have two shows tomorrow, but uh we’re gonna have Colin Price. He is the Astros um third base, sorry, not third base, a catching prospect in AAA is what I was trying to say. But uh he actually had a great season last year and uh he played 111 games. great insight on um potentially being a role five selection by another team. I asked him what that’s like and he just had a lot of great answers. So go and tune in is he could be the next Astros backup catcher is I asked him that um what does he think about um catching he never caught Justin Verlander but he got to play another position while Verlander was um on the mound. So, just a lot of awesome um questions and answers that he had for that. So, go and tune that go and tune in for that. And Brett, you want to go and mention your guest again? Yes. Daniel Kim, who is a KBO insider um with the Korean baseball league. He has also been featured um on the likes of MLB World Series just recently with um you know, the Dodgers postseason. And look, I mean, he’s on MLB.tv. So, check out my interview tomorrow night with Daniel Kim. We’re gonna talk KBO. We’re gonna talk about arms. We’re gonna talk about what is this sudden spring coming from with all these KBO pitchers and players coming our way. So, it’ll be an exciting interview, a little extra interview for you guys to come hang out with us. All right, guys. Thank you for making Lockdown Astros podcast your first listen. Go and subscribe to us. Go and make it first listen Apple Odyssey, Spotify, wherever you listen your podcast, go and check us out. We’ll be back tomorrow. And as we always say, go Stros. And hey, what about Steven Quan? Hit the Quan. Hit the Quan. Please don’t. Great show,

The Houston Astros take a bold step in the offseason, signing KBO pitching standout Ryan Weiss to a team-friendly contract through 2026 with an option for 2027. Can Weiss’s swing-and-miss stuff and refined control fill the rotation void left by Framber Valdez’s departure? Hosts Eric Huysman and Brett Chancey debate Weiss’s potential impact, detailing his arsenal—fastball, slider, and forkball—and examining how the Astros’ pitching lab could unlock his upside.

Roster decisions loom large as trade rumors swirl around Jake Myers, while names like Michael King and Ranger Suarez emerge as possible rotation targets. They chime in on MLB hot stove chaos and weigh the long-term implications of qualifying offers, the Astros’ draft picks, and Jim Crane’s luxury tax strategy. With spring training approaching, will the Astros make another big move for World Series contention or settle for divisional dominance?

All that and more on tonight’s episode — be sure to tune in!

00:00 Building Around Correa and Altuve

04:15 Weiss: Growth, Skill, Overseas Success

09:08 Astros Pitching Depth Discussed

13:05 Astros’ Urgent Need for Pitcher

14:49 “Reflecting on Astros’ GM Exit”

18:12 Astros Trade Debate: Myers Stays

22:32 Astros Pitching Strategy Discussed

25:54 “Jim Crane: Invest for Victory”

29:21 Astros’ Draft Opportunity

31:09 “Astros Prospect Colin Price”

Locked On Astros is your daily Houston Astros podcast, hosted by Eric Huysman and Brett Chancey. As part of the Locked On Podcast Network, we bring you the latest Astros news, in-depth game analysis, player updates, and exclusive insights — every single weekday.
Whether you’re a die-hard fan or a casual listener, stay connected with everything happening in Astros baseball. Tune in on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, never to miss an episode.
🎧 Subscribe today and make Locked On Astros part of your daily routine — perfect for your commute, workout, or coffee break.
📺 We’re growing fast on YouTube — help us reach 20,000 subscribers by subscribing now and joining the best Houston Astros community online!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9fXhBb2-ZTiPwk7WNwYjzQ
https://linktr.ee/LockedOnAstros
Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOAstros?sid=YouTube
Locked On MLB League-Wide: Every Team, Prospects & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnMLB
#Astros #HoustonAstros #MLB
Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
Rugiet
Ready to level up your confidence ? Head to https://rugiet.com and use promo code LOCKEDONMLB for 15% off your first order.
Monarch Money
Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONMLB at https://monarchmoney.com/lockedonmlb for 50% off your first year.
Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONMLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.
FanDuel
Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Football season is around the corner, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now.
FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)