The Astros arguably had one actual weakness heading into the offseason: a lack of a quality left-handed reliever. If you may recall, Houston were already paying Tony Sipp $6 million per season when they acquired left-hander Francisco Liriano from the Blue Jays during last season’s trade deadline. For proper context, Liriano was converted from a starter to a reliever mid-season. It is needless to state the obvious, but I will, the Astros were desperate for a left-handed reliever.
Fast forward to spring training, and the Astros are still in the same boat.