Astros just opened the door for the Reds to land an intriguing arm

The Major League Baseball offseason is officially underway, and the Cincinnati Reds need help at almost every position. The need for pitching, however, is especially dire, and the Reds are operating on a budget. Thankfully, the Houston Astros may have just given Cincinnati an opportunity to pick up a quality arm at a discount.

The Astros chose to decline Ryan Weiss' $5 million team-option. The right-hander now enters the free agent market after making just nine Major League appearances in 2026 and posting a 7.62 ERA and 7.10 FIP. Given the numbers, one can hardly blame Houston from moving on, but Weiss has enough stuff under the hood that might make him an intriguing addition to the Reds' roster.

Reds should take a flier on former Astros pitcher Ryan Weiss

Before this past season, Weiss spent the previous two years overseas in Korea. He made 46 starts during his time in the KBO covering nearly 300 innings of work. He kept his walk rate low and his strikeout rate high, which earned him a big-league contract with the Astros this past winter.

Unfortunately, Weiss spent more time in the minors than the majors in 2026, but began to show signs of life down the stretch. He started three games for Triple-A Sugar Land during the final month of the season and allowed just two runs on 12 hits over 16⅔ innings pitched. He struck 19 batters and posted a 1.08 ERA.

The right-hander has a five-pitch mix that includes in a 95 mph heater to go along with a plus-sweeper and plus-changeup. Weiss will also tinker with a curveball and sinker from time to time, but the four-seamer and sweeper are his dominant offerings.

Former Reds' pitcher Nick Martinez revamped his game overseas before returning stateside in 2022. He's now an All-Star who just appeared in the World Series and is going to receive a pretty nice payday this offseason.

Weiss has minor-league options remaining — something that would be tremendously appealing to the Reds' front office — and he shouldn't cost too much on the open market.

With Hunter Greene (and his $15.3 million salary) sidelined for the 2027 season, Cincinnati needs to find ways to bolster their rotation on a budget. Weiss fits the bill, and the Reds would be wise to strike quickly. Other organizations will be looking for similar reclamation projects this offseason.

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