{"id":673424,"date":"2026-04-11T17:13:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T17:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/673424\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T17:13:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T17:13:15","slug":"astros-linked-to-61-million-all-star-former-cy-young-candidate-as-temporary-replacement-for-hunter-brown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/673424\/","title":{"rendered":"Astros linked to $61 million All-Star, former Cy Young candidate as temporary replacement for Hunter Brown"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Houston Astros<\/a> are off to an underwhelming start, with a record of 6-8 and in fourth place in the AL West. Now, their ace and Cy Young candidate Hunter Brown is down with injury<\/a>, and if they don\u2019t want to fall even further behind, they need a replacement, especially if it becomes a long-term problem.<\/p>\n

Sports Illustrated\u2019s Justin Binkowski<\/a> believes the Astros could sign a Cy Young candidate from the past in Lucas Giolito, who is somehow still a free agent. Giolito could fill Brown\u2019s spot, and upon his return, shift to the back of the rotation.<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0Angels predicted to part ways with, put $2.9 million 0.45 ERA breakout ace on trade block after Cy Young-level start to 2026 season<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIf Brown isn’t expected to miss a large chunk of the season, the Astros will likely try to use some of the minor league arms already in the team’s system for a couple of spot starts. But shoulder injuries can be tricky, especially with pitchers. So if Houston’s ace is sidelined for an extended period of time, the team may have to look for an outside option. Luckily for the Astros, one former All-Star pitcher is somehow still a free agent. Right-handed pitcher Lucas Giolito remains one of the bigger mysteries from the past offseason, going unsigned after posting a 3.41 ERA in 26 starts for the Boston Red Sox<\/a> in 2025. The 31-year-old does have his own past injury concerns, but at this point, the Astros would be hard-pressed to find another quality arm to insert into their rotation without making a trade,\u201d Binkowski wrote.<\/p>\n

This past season, Giolito posted a 10-4 record, a 3.41 ERA, 121 Ks, and a WHIP of 1.290 over 145 innings pitched. Most importantly, he wins games and has a decent ERA, so he could be a viable replacement for Brown.<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0Padres Cy Young candidate ace Michael King receives $100 million contract update ahead of free agency<\/a><\/p>\n

Even though his market value<\/a> calls for a three-year, $61 million deal, the Astros could definitely get him on a rental. The MLB season has been going on for weeks now, so it\u2019s not helping Giolito\u2019s case.<\/p>\n

Even if Brown is only out a couple weeks, the Astros should still get Giolito. He\u2019d solidify the end of their rotation, and make the Astros a scary team to face once again.<\/p>\n

MORE\u00a0MLB<\/a>\u00a0NEWS<\/p>\n

Proposed blockbuster Mets trade sees land $33 million All-Star, Batting Title winner to finally replace bat of Pete Alonso<\/a><\/p>\n

Diamondbacks predicted to explore trade options for $22 million All-Star, Cy Young candidate before deadline<\/a><\/p>\n

Proposed Red Sox trade sees Boston finally cut ties with Triston Casas, land 4.56 ERA starting pitcher, catcher prospect<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Houston Astros are off to an underwhelming start, with a record of 6-8 and in fourth place…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":673425,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2389],"tags":[42,5,139,54,3211,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-673424","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston-astros","8":"tag-astros","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-houston","11":"tag-houston-astros","12":"tag-houstonastros","13":"tag-mlb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116387196450079715","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=673424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/673425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=673424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=673424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=673424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}