[Official] Astros Offseason

That makes a lot of sense. And I think the Astros want to make sure that they have as many arms available throughout the season that can contribute this year.

 

Just a quick thank you. Between posts like this, your WAR projections, the farm rankings, etc., you put a TON of work into adding quality content to the Board. My only complaint is that it makes local sports radio hard to listen to because the hosts know so much less than readers of this board! Thanks for the info.

 

Thanks for the kind words. This place is a relatively healthy distraction for me, so it’s a two way street. I know I am extremely active on this board; hopefully the ignore feature works well for anyone annoyed by my content and hopefully nothing I post discourages anyone else from contributing to the baseball discussion. Go stros.

 

I find the board pretty annoying at times but love your content. Always sharp, insightful.

 

Ah, it's much more civilized and useful than the Texans or Rockets side and it's because posters like @Snake Diggit, @Nook, @tellitlikeitis to name the Top 3 that make the difference.

 

There’s just a generally higher level of knowledge on this board than others I’ve seen. I was posting on Crawfish Boxes back in the day but the stupidity of their average commenter became intolerable. The Astros Reddit thread is very hit or miss. There are exceptions of course, but by and large almost every regular commenter here consistently has a pretty reasonable take. And yes having someone as knowledgeable as tellit and a legit insider like nook certainly makes this board uniquely cool.

 

Why would anyone interested in Astros content ignore you, that would be insane. We come here to read what guys like you have to say!

 

The Stros want him to ditch some of his 6 skills and focus on what he's best at: mop and floor buffer

 

I don’t understand blubaugh not basically being pencilled in to start and Ullola as a bullpen guy at a minimum come May or June when there’s no eligibility issues with losing a season.

 

I love Arrighetti. I think he’s going to be really good. I think we missed stealing another season from him by like 5 days. He has options. He needs to start in the minors until the first injury or bad LmJ performance leads us to dfa him.

 

In a vacuum I’d trade Orna, Matthews, Meyers, king for your suggested return. If the Astros weren’t looking like a true WS contender at the deadline I’d absolutely open up to offers on Yordan (if he’s healthy and reestablished himself) Hunter Brown and I’d go ask Hader about waiving his no trade if we were going that direction and see what I could get for him if I sent $40M out with him. Paredes would be damn near an auto trade at the deadline for me if we limp in and look like crap. Actually I might offer him something like a 7 year 150M extension option and then trade him if he said no.
Nothing on the other

 

At least early on, options will be a big factor in who is in the rotation.

Brown is a no-brainer and hands down ACE.

Imai and Burrows will have a spot until they prove they don't belong because of the team's investment in them.

Javier and McCullers make big $$$ and have no options so will also get spots until they falter.

That leaves 1 rotation spot.

Nate Pearson was signed as a starter and will be stretched out and given a chance to win that spot. He likely ends up in the bullpen but is out of options so makes the team either way.

Weiss, Arrighetti, Blubaugh, Alexander, Gordon, Ullola, and Teng are all SP who have options remaining. Some may be considered for the bullpen but it is possible that if Pearson impresses in ST they all start in Sugar Land.

With a 6 man rotation, that leaves a 7 man bullpen.

Hader, Okert, Abreu, and King have earned spots on the opening day roster based on 2025.

I would include Sousa also but there are simply too few spots and he has options.

For some unknown reason, they love De Los Santos and he has no options so I expect him to have a spot.

Roddery Munoz is a rule 5 pick who must make the team or be returned, so he has a leg up on everyone else.

That leaves 1 spot for Sousa, Murray, and all the guys who miss out on a rotation spot.

The fight for the final 2-3 roster spots for pitchers is going to be brutal.

My prediction:

Rotation: Brown, Imai, Javier, Burrows, McCullers, Weiss.

Bullpen: Hader, Abreu, Okert, King, De Los Santos, Pearson, Blubaugh.

Munoz returned to the Reds.

AAA: Arrighetti, Alexander, Gordon, Ullola, Teng, Sousa, and Murray

 

Wrong thread

 

Wrong thread

 

That’s an absurdly good AAA staff.

 

Especially when you add in Pecko, who I like more than Arrighetti and Ullola. Unless there are guys hurt that we don’t know about, the AAA pitching depth in 2026 should be among the best Houston has ever had.

Went back and looked, and from 2017-2025, I think the best AAA pitching staff was 2022. Brown, France, Solomon, Bielak, Dubin, Enoli Paredes, Nick Hernandez, Ronel Blanco, Whitley.