The Astros are out to a slow start this year, currently sitting 15-25, ahead of just the White Sox and Angels in the American League standings. Thats led to early speculation about them po sibly trading some pieces at this summers deadline. General manager Dana Brown was recently on MLB Network and said that he cant predict any scenario where the Astros sell at the deadline. But as noted by , that channel is usually on in clubhouses and he may have decided to portray public confidence with the players watching. There will be many interesting decisions for the club to make this year, though the on-field performance will obviously play a huge factor in how they make those choices. There is still time for them to climb back into contention, with the at FanGraphs currently giving them a 39.6% chance to make the postseason while the at Baseball Prospectus have them slightly better than a coin to s at 51.3%. If the club does end up in selling position, that doesnt nece sarily mean they are going to tear the roster down to the studs. is under contract through 2027, and through 2028 and through 2029. Players like , and are arbitration-eligible through 2026, and through 2027, while , and are controllable Matt Olson Jersey even beyond that. There are also some guys closer to free agency that the club may have to think about trading if they cant climb in the standings in the next two months. is an impending free agent. is as well, though he has a conditional player option for 2025. is in the final guaranteed year of his deal, though his 2025 mutual option becomes guaranteed if he makes 50 appearances this year. Thats a number hes hit in the past seven full seasons and hes already at 16 this year, meaning hell vest that option as long as hes healthy. , and each have one more arbitration season remaining before they are slated for free agency after 2025. Though the club may have to at least field some calls on that group, there will be some complications with Verlander and Pre sly. As mentioned by Rome, both players have opt-outs and would prefer to stay in Houston. That tracks with last weeks report from , who also highlighted Verlanders love of Houston. Perhaps that means the most likely scenario is both players stay for next year. Verlander will have a player option if he gets to 140 innings this year and could trigger it, or perhaps re-sign even if he doesnt make it to that line. With Pre sly on pace to lock in another year on his deal and not jazzed about being traded, perhaps he just stays as well. Verlander is now 41 years old and Pre sly is 35, so they may have to think about whether their love for Houston is strong enough for them to stick around and play out the string on a lost season, as opposed to competing for another ring elsewhere. But they have a few months to think that over. For now, the club has to ponder its roster construction as they try to win the ball games in front of them. At the start of the month, the club began a stretch of playing 29 games in 30 days and manager Joe Espada the club would be considering a six-man rotation. They havent exactly stuck to that plan initially. Javier started Saturdays game and only recorded four outs, which led to Brown throwing five innings of long relief. Whether Brown will stick in the bullpen for a while or make another start seems undecided right now. The next three contests are slated to be started by , Blanco and Valdez, per , but with Espada telling Kawahara that either Javier or Brown could take the ball on Thursday. The club doesnt have an off-day until May 23, and then plays another 13 straight after that. Espada says they will have a six-man rotation at some point but its not exactly clear how often Brown will be starting or relieving. John Brebbia Jersey