These Astros are still running on the fumes of what was the greatest organization ever cultivated in 2019. Nothing productive has occurred since then, just little changes here and there meant to slow the decay. Just like the 2000s Astros adding a Preston Wilson or a Carlos Lee. There has been nothing transformational or innovative or outside of the box in the last five years. We have been playing within the same set of organizational roster building constructs as everyone else and just slowly receding back to average while accumulating horrible contracts and signing over the hill players that we would have laughed at other organizations for doing back in 2017.
In times of trouble Joe asks himself WWDD? And then does something inappropriate relative to the situation.
Seems appropriate that we did not have three of our best hitters for the must win game - Yordan Pena and Meyers. And that we had to rely on a journeyman who gave his best in Alexander. Last night captured the season perfectly.
I don't think he is. After FAs are removed, the Astros have 45 players on the 40 man roster. By November 20, they need to have it set including any players they wish to protect from the rule 5 draft. I think Sanchez and at least 6 other players (Admittedly a lenient description of them) are traded if possible and non-tendered if not. It will be an interesting off-season.
I had originally thought that Sanchez had 2 more years of control, back when the trade went down. baseball-reference says we got Sanchez two more years if we want him: Sanchez : Earliest Free Agent: 2028.
I know this. I just think they don't want him and he is not guaranteed a roster spot. Non-tender him and let him sign a minor league deal/ NRI with someone else. Colorado would be fun.
Sanchez without question underperformed for the Astos in 2025. His future with the Astros is not a given.
Bregman is on his way to his 9th postseason appearance in his 9th year. He has never missed it. I remember right after his free agency departure bringing up here that Bregman didn't care for Espada and probably didn't believe in him and this only pushed him to want to leave even more. That got a lot pushback here. If yall remember their was an article released during the 2024 season about an unnamed vet that didn't like how Espada communicated. It was speculated that was about Bregman who was pushed down the lineup not long before that. Of course...Bregman primarily left because he got a fat contract that the Astros weren't offering but I also think Bregman knew Espada didn't have what it took to be a WS winning manager. Cora and Hinch have done it and the Red Sox and the Tigers were the two teams he was deciding between in the end. I don't think Astros were seriously ever in the race and it seems he made the right decision.
The Astros have been decimated by injuries. The injuries just kept coming, and never ceased. Alvarez gets backs after missing most of the season, but injures his ankle rendering him likely missing the rest of the season. Hader as dominant as he was goes to the injury list. Spencer who many thought was going to have a breakout season, spends most of the season on the IR. Wezneski who was seen as a 4th or 5th starter barely plays and ends up being lost for the season. Peña played like an MVP, but he’s been on the IR when the team desperately needed him to step it up. Myers was another guy having a breakout season, but has spent considerable time on the IR, especially when the team needed him most. Paredes was having a super season then lands on the IR for most of the season. He’s come back like a champ, but it might have been too little too late. And Javier, Garcia, France, have been slow getting back. And Garcia after he came back, is now out for the 2026 season! If the team can’t stay healthy, the chemistry goes up in smoke. And no team can win without good chemistry.
I was thinking about how the Astros survived players leaving, but Bregman was the guy I felt they should have paid to keep. I was saying pay him before he left. In the end they wasted money on players like Walker and other fillers that didn’t help the team anyway.
If they are, indeed, eliminated tonight. Put Pena, Paredes, and Meyers on IL Bring up Leon, Dezenzo, and Whitcomb and play them tomorrow
I definitely think they’re too banged up to make any kind of serious post season run even if they make it. However I really want the younglings to get some post season experience
Meh. Nothing gained from 2 games. None of those guys should play next year anyway. At least I hope not.
It's over, they failed all year long. No discipline, sloppy play, no accountability.....time for an overhaul. DD
That WS loss will sting forever. The players on that team....geez should have won that one and would have made the cheating scandal fallout easier to swallow. But it was a very enjoyable 10 years for the most part. League just didnt like that little team in Houston showing up the big dogs.
The fumes left over were the loss of draft picks which decimated our minor league system. We have been catching up ever since. Luhow was a great GM, but he is also partly culpable for losing our ability to replenish internally. It is miraculous that we are in as good a position as we are. Missed the playoffs by 1 game after suffering the most injuries in major league history. We are in great position for the next 2 years. There will not be a re-build anytime soon. Espada was Brown’s only falter in my opinion. The key is Alvarez staying healthy and replacing Framber. A healthy Alvarez all year and we run away with the division, despite all the other injuries.
