Astros general manager Dana Brown gave a very telling quote while talking with reporters in Orlando at last week’s winter meetings in his quest to improve his team’s roster.

“Most of these teams, they’re not really asking much about the young prospects right now, so there’s a chance that we may have to trade from the major-league roster,” Brown told reporters, according to the Houston Chronicle. “Hopefully, we can get it done without trading off the major-league roster. But there is a chance, because we’re not going to leave any stone unturned.”

Translation: Teams aren’t interested in the Astros’ prospects because their farm system is bad.

This isn’t news to anyone who has regularly followed the club for the last half decade, but it serves as a reminder for just how difficult it will be for the Astros to improve through the trade market.

Yes, the Astros can fill holes on their roster by trading Major Leaguers, but doing so can create other holes.

Jake Meyers has reportedly been at the forefront of players who could be used to add a much-needed starting pitcher, but doesn’t trading a Gold Glove finalist at a premium defensive position also hurt your team? Who would the Astros turn to as his replacement? It’s like moving sand from one side of the sand box to the other.

The Astros have a surplus of infielders for which to trade, but Christian Walker’s contract likely gives him negative trade value, and moving him significantly weakens your infield defense if you could actually find someone to actually take on some of the $40 million he’s owed the next two years.

Isaac Paredes is also a trade candidate, but he was the Astros best hitter for the first half of the 2025 season. Does flipping him for a starting pitcher make the Astros better? Probably not, so how do they put themselves in a position to compete for a World Series in 2026?

It’s simple: Spend. Spend. Spend.

It’s not a creative strategy. They won’t one day write books or make a movie about it, but if you are a team without a farm system that is trying to contend, that’s really your only way forward.

With a staff that currently consists of Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and a bunch of questions marks, the Astros desperately need to add starting pitching between now and the start of spring training.

The easy fix would be to sign the best available free agent starting pitcher. That’s Framber Valdez, and for whatever you may think of him, and regardless of how he ended his 2025 season, the Astros best path to contention is to bring back the two-time All-Star who has been their opening day starter the last four years.

The price will be high, higher than the Astros have ever been willing to go during the Jim Crane era, but that is the best way to compete in an American League that will be better in 2026.

Again, I know Valdez was dreadful in August and September, but the Astros don’t sniff a playoff spot without his 2.62 ERA through July, and he still joined Roy Oswalt as the only Astros pitchers to finish with four or more consecutive seasons of 175 innings pitched with an ERA below 3.70.

The Astros could opt for Ranger Suarez, Michael King, or even Zac Gallen, but those three will cost two draft picks, and at this point, the last thing the Astros can afford to do is give up valuable draft picks.

Jim Crane and the Astros aren’t cheap. They’re far from it, but outside of one offseason, they’ve spent their money responsibly. That has led to the best 10 year stretch in franchise history, but if they want this era to continue, and if they want to show that last season was an outlier, they are going to have to get a little crazy.