There are several left-handed pitchers who could generate interest from the Houston Astros, who need to acquire a strong and dominant arm to replace the spot of Steven Okert, who became a free agent after pitching a couple of seasons in which he recorded a combined 2.8 fWAR and appeared in 136 games for the team.

Okert, 35, finished 2026 with the lowest walk rate (1.86 BB/9), BABIP allowed (.226), and LOB% (86.5) of his entire career, managing to considerably reduce his home run rate allowed since arriving in Houston.

So the Astros are going to need a specialist who can handle the situations that Okert used to keep under control, since other left-handers in the bullpen, such as Bennett Sousa and Bryan King, have often been inconsistent. Houston can explore several options in the free-agent market, where left-hander Alex Vesia stands out for his interesting profile.

Vesia, 30, comes off pitching six seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers and was an important pitcher in the bullpen during all those years, contributing his consistency to the two consecutive World Series titles in 2024 and 2025. Among all qualified left-handed pitchers over the last three seasons, Vesia ranks fifth in fWAR with 3.3, just behind Josh Hader, the Astros’ well-known closer.

Both have a fairly similar profile in terms of the way they impact the game, being strikeout left-handed pitchers who limit hard contact and are accustomed to handling pressure in the late stages of games.

Interestingly, in the period between 2024 and 2026, both allowed a .209 BABIP, but the difference in dominance was in control, as Hader has recorded a 2.99 BB/9 rate, while Vesia has accumulated 4.26, which clearly exposes his command problems.

Okert ranks tenth in fWAR with 2.4 -- tied with Matt Strahm -- and, despite being less of a strikeout pitcher than Vesia, his stability throwing strikes has helped him maintain a slight advantage of 3.42 to 3.45 in xFIP.

A Two-Season Investment

Alex Vesia finished the season with 72 appearances, 58 innings, a 2.64 ERA, and a 4.03 xFIP, a little above the 3.57 he recorded in 2025. Where were his inconsistencies? Yes, once again, in the negative situations generated by his walks.

Vesia closed the season with the highest BB/9 rate (4.97) of his career and, despite reducing his HR/FB% rate from 13.2 in 2025 to just 5.7, he could not prevent his xFIP from being affected. Even so, he finished in the 96th percentile in xERA with 2.68, the 95th in K%, and the 96th in Whiff%, metrics that support the effectiveness he achieved in preventing runs.

FanGraphs projects through Steamer that Vesia could work 58 innings again in 2027, so he should maintain the workload that has led him to record at least 56 relief appearances since 2022.

However, the concerning point here is that his xFIP is estimated to rise to 4.18, due to the high walk rate and the low probability of repeating the low BABIP and the 0.62 HR/9 rate he allowed in 2026.

Of course, these are just some of the projections that attempt to give us an idea of where Vesia’s metrics are headed, but if he improves his control, it is very likely that he could return to the standards he has shown over the last two seasons.

For the Astros, who are in such need of dominant arms capable of sustaining the bullpen, especially before reaching Hader, Vesia could be affordable at an average annual salary of $9 million, although some projections lean toward two seasons and around $16 million.