Astros Boss: Things “Heating Up” in Free Agency

Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown knows what his team’s needs are and he admits that things are starting to “heat up” as the Winter Meetings continue in Nashville on Tuesday.

But “close” would not be a word he would use just yet, per The Athletic. There are certain things that would be happening that would let Brown know that.

“I would say that the talks are heating up, but I’m not sure if I would say close,” Brown said. “Close to me means you are exchanging information and medical stuff. I would say that things are heating up now.”

Even if things are heating up, it doesn’t sound like the Astros are imminently set to fulfill their stated goals this offseason of finding a back-up catcher and help in the bullpen.

The Astros have already named Yainer Diaz the starting catcher for 2024, but he needs a backup more experienced than César Salazar, who has 18 MLB at-bats with Houston last season.

Martín Maldonado is a free agent, but the Astros haven’t completely ruled out bringing him back as Diaz’s backup.

The Astros have been linked to some catchers on the free-agent market, most notably Texas Rangers catcher and designated hitter Mitch Garver, who has a similar offensive pop as Diaz.

As for the bullpen, the Astros have to find some new arms or find a way to retain the arms they’ve lost due to free agency. Hector Neris, Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek are all free agents and could sign with other teams, if those prospective teams aren’t scared off by the trio’s heavy workload the past two seasons.

Whoever Brown is able to lure to Houston joins closer Ryan Pressly, who is in the last year of his contract, along with set-up men Bryan Abreu and Rafael Montero, along with Kendall Graverman.

For the Astros, there isn’t much drama outside of free-agency networking. Their draft position is set for 2024 and they could seek a prospect or two in the Rule 5 Draft, but they’re more concerned about losing their own unprotected prospects, most notably shortstop Shay Whitcomb and outfielder Justin Dirden.