SUPPORT » Houston Astros have had several changes to the organization. A

As we enter the third week of the MLB offseason http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-marcell-ozuna-jersey , the boatload of those have occurred in the front office, as other teams raid the..."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Houston Astros NewsGame ThreadsHouston Astros Minor LeaguesAstros Game DayPodcastsChange Imminent for Astros Rotation in 2019, but not time to Panic New,35commentsthat has been strongly impacted by change is the Astros’ starting pitching. Dallas Keuchel, as expected, declined his qualifying offer from the club—likely signaling his departure—Lance McCullers, Jr. underwent Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire 2019 season, and Charlie Morton remains a free agent. The potential loss of three-fifths of the 2018 starting rotation has led to a bit of panic from Astros fans, and I while I understand the sentiment, there are a few reasons I’m not ready to hit that big, red button.First, is the quality at the top of the rotation. Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole both merited Cy Young consideration this season and there is little reason to expect them to show much decline in 2019. I may be using a little hyperbole here, but even if three backend guys filled the vacant slots, Verlander and Cole alone likely keeps the Astros rotation atop the division. (As a side note: I’m also optimistic we’ll re-sign both Verlander and Cole to extended deals in the next year, which will improve the outlook of the rotation beyond 2019.)Troy Taormina-USA TODAY SportsI also believe Charlie Morton is coming back, and that would obviously be a good thing. Morton had the best season of his 11-year career in 2018, striking out over 200 guys, leading the Majors in win-percentage (15-3, .833), making 30 starts for the first time, and being selected to his first All-Star team. He was a little erratic at times Willie McGee Jersey , leading the American League in batters hit by pitch (16), but Morton was so overpowering that he was able to overcome it. Morton’s unlikely to go deep into games on a regular basis for the Astros (for a few reasons, including some inconsistency but also workload limitations to maintain his health), but he’s about as good of a No. 3 starter as you can find. Ensuring his return is one of the biggest offseason priorities, in my opinion.Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY SportsIn the event Morton doesn’t return, I still have trust in the Astros’ internal options—both those already on the roster (Collin McHugh, Brad Peacock, Josh James) and in the Minor Leagues (Forrest Whitley, J.B. Bukauskas, Rogelio Armenteros). We’ve written articles—which I’ve linked on the players’ names above—on most of the aforementioned pitchers over the past few months that present a reasonable argument to expect the Astros are capable of replacing any production lost.Speaking of lost production, Dallas Keuchel has been one of the icons for this franchise for about half a decade now. Keuchel has been through some of the Astros’ leanest years and deserves respect and acknowledgement for his evolution, leadership, and results in Houston. Honestly, his out-of-nowhere transformation from fringe Major Leaguer to American League Cy Young winner is one of the most unexpected I’ve seen from a Houston athlete. But he hasn’t been quite the same pitcher we witnessed in that Cy Young-winning 2015.As you can see above (click the image to enlarge), a lot of Keuchel’s numbers have dipped compared to 2015 (which, to be fair, was truly remarkable and unlikely to be replicated). For instance, although Keuchel eclipsed 200 innings this season for the first time since 2015, he led the Majors in hits allowed (211). He allowed 26 more hits in 2018 than he did in 2015, when he threw nearly 28 more innings. Keuchel has definitely had moments of greatness since 2015 and is still a good pitcher—and a lefty—but he’s battled injuries and consistency issues the past few years that have diminished his on-field value, which leads me to believe the Astros can replace his production at a much lower cost than he’ll command.Troy Taormina-USA TODAY SportsMcCullers is one of my favorite Astros Red Schoendienst Jersey , and I’m always uber disappointed when he’s out for an extended period because it just seems to happen too often and we never get to see his upper limit. Unfortunately, the Astros have become accustomed to dealing with injury concerns for McCullers most of his career. In addition to injuries, McCullers’ control can sometimes abandon him; he’s got top-of-the-rotation potential but has yet to put it together for an entire season. As I previously mentioned, the Astros do seem well-equipped to fill McCullers’ spot in the rotation with an internal option, many of which will also come at a relatively low cost. Whoever takes his spot in the rotation may not be likely to have the ceiling of McCullers, Jr., but it may be enough if the Astros can simply get consistency and health from his replacement.Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY SportsSo far, I’ve operated under the assumption the Astros will not add an external starting pitcher, which seems unlikely. Recent reports have indicated the Astros are one of at least a few teams in pursuit of a trade with the Seattle Mariners for lefthanded pitcher James Paxton.Although I can’t envision Seattle trading Paxton within the division, let alone to Houston, if the deal does happen, the Astros upgrade the vacancy left in the rotation by Keuchel with an even better lefty starter. And if not, I trust Jeff Luhnow and his staff to make moves, sure, but I also feel good about that part of the roster already. I’d prefer to upgrade in other areas—such as catcher and designated hitter—over starting pitching, especially if we bring back Morton. And if the Astros somehow strike a deal for Paxton as well, Houston’s rotation in 2019 will have a chance to be even better than it was in a historic 2018.How do you feel about the Astros’ rotation in 2019? Let us know in the comments below. The Red Sox can score runs."With the bullpen facing their most pressure-filled situation in some time, Colten Brewer got the first call in the sixth. He looked good yet again, allowing one batter to reach on a strikeout that got past Swihart and to the back stop. After the Red Sox failed to score in the seventh thanks to more great defense from Laureano and Chapman, Brewer came back out for the bottom half. He’d record two outs before issuing a walk, and that was the end of his night. Davis was coming up for the A’s and Alex Cora showed he wasn’t messing around by bringing on Matt Barnes. The righty did the job Enos Slaughter Jersey , striking out Oakland’s best hitter to end the inning.Barnes would come back out for the eighth inning, and after two quick outs things started to get scary. Semien came through with a two-out knock into center field. In the next at bat he stole second base, and a bad throw from Swihart (along with a bobble in center field by Jackie Bradley Jr.) moved him to third. Laureano was up now, and it seemed he had knocked in the go-ahead run with an infield single. Brock Holt made a great play and throw in the hole, but the runner was ruled safe. That call was overturned after review, however, and the game remained tied.In the ninth, the Red Sox got a leadoff runner when Eduardo Nez singled, but he was quickly taken off the bases on a truly bizarre stolen base attempt in which he attempted to back track to first base halfway through. It...did not work. With two outs, though, they got something going again with back-to-back singles from Swihart and Bradley Jr. A passed ball put both runners in scoring position, and Betts came through with a double that ricocheted off the third base bag to knock in two and give Boston a 5-3 lead. Benintendi kept it going with a triple, and the Red Sox had a three-run lead.That just left the bottom of the ninth for Ryan Brasier, who was looking to record his first career save. The righty hit a batter to lead off the inning but then set down the next three batters he faced and Boston grabbed their second win of 2019.So, the Red Sox will have a chance to salvage a split in this series with a win on Thursday. It’ll be an afternoon, getaway day in Oakland for the series finale, with first pitch coming at 3:37 PM ET. Boston will send Eduardo Rodriguez out to the mound to take on Brett Anderson.BOXCourtesy of Fangraphs