The Houston Astros need a bounce back year from Cristian Javier.
They decided to re-sign him to a five-year, $64 million deal after the 2022 season in which he was a huge factor for them winning the World Series.
When Justin Verlander departed in free agency after that year, it seemed like a no-brainer for the Astros to give Javier the money to stay with the franchise.
Unfortunately, the 26-year-old put together the worst season of his career in 2023, posting an ERA of 4.56 across his 31 starts and 162 innings pitched. His strikeouts were down and his walks were up.
It was not a good recipe for success and has prompted the right-hander to completely change his offseason regimen and reshape his body.
Ideally, that is the secret recipe for a bounce back year.
But Javier will also have to adjust to what Houston's new manager Joe Espada wants from a defensive philosophy with the pitch clock and larger bases making it easier for runners to steal bases.
Espada has emphasized holding baserunners throughout spring and Javier struggled to do that during his time on the mound against the St. Louis Cardinals according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic.
Overall, the righty had a really good showing.
He went three innings and didn't allow a single hit, striking out three batters. But he did walk two batters and they were able to advance on stolen bases.
That's something that could be a major issue for Javier throughout the season if he can't hold runners.
It's unlikely that much is able to change either because his delivery is so slow.
Completely changing his approach to the plate isn't something that will come in a month.
It will be interesting to see how the Astros address this aspect of his game that could come back and haunt them throughout 2024.
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