Astros Should Target Marlins Pitcher to Address Needs in Starting Rotation

The Houston Astros have a glaring need they would love to address ahead of the MLB trade deadline this year.

Their starting pitching looked to be a strength coming into the 2025 regular season with Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, Hayden Wesneski, Ronel Blanco and Spencer Arrighetti.

With Lance McCullers Jr., Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia and J.P. France all rehabbing, the Astros looked to have the depth to make some noise on the mound.

Their rotation has more than held its own, but not in the fashion anyone expected.

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Valdez and Brown are dominant atop the rotation as two American League All-Star candidates, but beyond that, it has been a revolving door of pitchers helping chip in because injuries have decimated their depth.

Javier, Garcia and France are still rehabbing. McCullers made his return to a Major League mound for the first time since the 2022 World Series and is back on the injured list.

Arrighetti suffered a freak accident early in the year while throwing in the outfield during batting practice and getting hit with a batted ball.

Wesneski and Blanco both suffered elbow injuries that required Tommy John surgery.

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11 different players have started a game for Houston on the mound this year, and that number is likely to grow as the summer moves along.

Not only do the Astros have questions about their starting pitching in 2025, but there could be a massive void created in 2026 and beyond with Valdez set to hit free agency after the campaign.

That is what makes a controllable starting pitcher the No. 1 need for Houston ahead of the MLB trade deadline this year.

Who should they target to address that?

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The Miami Marlins could make for a great trade partner, but not for the pitcher everyone is thinking of.

Former National League Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara might be the biggest trade chip moved this year after the Boston Red Sox shipped Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants.

But the asking price for him will be exorbitant, and the Astros don’t possess the kind of prospects to compete with the packages other franchises can put together.

Instead, they should target Edward Cabrera, a stuff monster who the Houston coaching staff could mold into a front-line starter should they be able to harness his repertoire as they have done with so many pitchers previously.

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Not hitting free agency until after the 2028 season, Cabrera is the perfect trade target for the Astros.

Set to hit aribrtation for the first time, he is someone the Marlins would historically look to unload in a trade.

He would come at a much more affordable price than Alcantara and has performed better in 2025 than his former Cy Young Award-winning teammate.

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