HOUSTON – With general manager Dana Brown and manager Joe Espada both set to return for 2026 coming off the team’s first season without a playoff berth in nine seasons, the Astros have plenty of time to begin looking towards next year. There’s no shortage of questions for the club to answer this winter when it comes to the roster. Here are five questions facing the Astros this offseason: 1. Where can they find some starting pitching depth?
Assuming the Astros don’t re-sign left-hander Framber Valdez, who will be a free agent, their rotation is topped by AL Cy Young candidate Hunter Brown and some uncertainty. Cristian Javier made eight starts in his return from Tommy John surgery and will return, though he hasn’t been as effective as he was in 2022. Spencer Arrighetti spent most of the season on the injured list, including the final month with right elbow inflammation, and Lance McCullers Jr. will be back in the final year of his deal. In short, the Astros need to bolster their starting pitching depth, and general manager Dana Brown said last week the team would be in the market to trade for an arm. They probably will be in the market for some free agent starters, as well. The Astros tried to get a starter at the Trade Deadline but deemed the price to be too high, and they were banking on Luis Garcia and Arrighetti to return from injuries, but both were re-injured. Garcia had a second TJ surgery Oct. 1. AJ Blubaugh showed promise in his rookie season (1.69 ERA in 11 games, including three starts) and could be a rotation option, though the former college closer could be a weapon in the bullpen. Prospects Miguel Ullola (No. 5), Bryce Mayer (No. 11) and Ethan Pecko (No. 12) could push for starts in 2026. |
2. Will they consider re-signing Valdez?
It appears unlikely the Astros would re-sign Valdez, who didn’t pitch well down the stretch last season and had a well-publicized cross-up with catcher César Salazar that drew criticism. Regardless, he’s been a workhorse starter for six seasons and will have plenty of suitors on the free agent market. Some of Valdez’s veteran teammates say they put the incident with Salazar behind them and praised Valdez as a good teammate and for his work ethic, but his time in Houston is probably done. Perhaps the biggest question is whether they give him a qualifying offer. |
3. How will they solve the surplus of position players, particularly on the infield? After losing Isaac Paredes to a hamstring strain in July, the Astros traded for Carlos Correa to return and play Paredes’ position of third base (team MVP Jeremy Peña is entrenched at shortstop), while also adding utility player Ramón Urías in another trade. A healthy roster leaves the Astros with too many infielders, including two third basemen in Paredes and Correa. The Astros could move Urías, Paredes or utility man Mauricio Dubón to open a spot in exchange for pitching, or – if they don’t mind the financial price – trade Christian Walker and put Paredes at first. If Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez continue to split time in left field next year and Jake Meyers is in center and Cam Smith is in right, where does that leave Jesús Sánchez, who posted a .611 OPS in 48 games after coming from the Marlins? Prospect Zach Cole’s eye-opening debut in September puts him on the map for next season, as well. And we’ve yet to mention the Astros' top two prospects – infielder Brice Matthews and outfielder Jacob Melton, both of whom made their debut in 2025. |
4. How can they bolster the catching position? They could opt to trade starter Yainer Diaz, whose defensive limitations and free-swinging approach are a hindrance. He has value offensively, but the Astros need to improve at the position on defense. Brown said they want to re-sign switch-hitting catcher Victor Caratini, who’s a free agent, and adding a better defender behind the plate could help improve the pitching staff as a whole. |
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5. What upgrades do they need in bullpen? The Astros’ bullpen held its own for much of last season, but the loss of All-Star closer Josh Hader in early August proved too much to overcome. So were injuries to other key bullpen arms down the stretch in Kaleb Ort and Bennett Sousa. If Hader returns to begin next season, he and Bryan Abreu remain an elite back-end bullpen combo. The Astros will be in the market to add a proven arm or two to bolster bullpen depth and hope they can stay healthier on the mound in 2026. |
THIS WEEK IN ASTROS HISTORY |
Oct. 9, 2005 Chris Burke socked a walk-off homer in the 18th inning of Game 4 of the 2005 NLDS to send the Astros a 7-6 win in what was at the time the longest playoff game in history (five hours, 50 minutes). The Astros overcame a 6-1 deficit, getting a grand slam from Lance Berkman in the eighth and a two-out homer from Brad Ausmus in the ninth. Burke, who entered as a pinch-runner for Berkman in the 10th, lined a 2-0 pitch from Joey Devine just over the left-field wall to send the Astros into the NLCS. |
René Cárdenas, a broadcasting pioneer for the Colt .45s/Astros and the first full-time Spanish-language broadcaster to call games for a Major League team when he joined the Dodgers in 1958, is one of 10 finalists for the 2026 Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in baseball broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. In 1961, Cárdenas was hired by the expansion Colt .45s to pioneer their Spanish radio broadcasts as both their first broadcaster and as director of Spanish broadcasting. Cárdenas called Astros games for 14 seasons before returning to his native Nicaragua in '75, where he called baseball games on both television and radio. In '82, he returned to Los Angeles and called games for the Dodgers for several seasons before returning to the Astros’ Spanish radio broadcast in 2007 and ‘08. |
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