The offense is good enough through the six spot in the lineup. Seven through nine is very weak. One more bat would go a long way.
Weird for JV to not even get a mention, but Wesneski and Gamel (who was on the team last season) are part of this conversation. We lost Yusei, who is currently a better pitcher, too. In past seasons it's felt like 1 guy leaving at a time, maybe 2. Springer, Correa, Yuli, Cole. This season it was a bunch of long term guys all at once. Giant downgrade in RF with no clear replacement. Downgrade at 3B. Definite upgrade at 1B. Drop off in the rotation, but we might get help with injured pitchers returning at some point. Loss of a good RP but we'll be fine there if Hader can return to his career numbers. We should try to re-sign Neris. Like you said, not sure this team wins the division. It's a weaker lineup and a weaker rotation. The margin over Texas and Seattle wasn't huge to begin with.
I'm glad the Bregman drama is over and we are returning to talking about how mid this roster looks. I view this season as a soft rebuild and I will be paying more attention to how the young guys are performing in Houston and in the minors. I do not expect the Astros to compete unless a couple of the young guys perform beyond my expectations in a major way.
I just kinda feel meh now that the dust has settled. For some reason I felt we had a bit more time with our big dogs going into this year and now it’s mostly over. I don’t now part of me really held hope for Bregman, whether that’s silly or not. Man . . .
Glad the Bregman saga is over. Time to look forward and see what this team can do. We all knew it was going to end sometime. Is this the end of the run? Hard to say. The Astros still have a ton of talent but seemingly have more holes to fill than they’ve had the last 10 years. I think what I’m disappointed in most is what seems to be a lack of some kind of plan. Feels like the team is trying to patch leaks more than build a winner. Not saying there isn’t talent on the team, not saying they can’t and won’t win. Just feels different. I don’t have that feeling of knowing we will compete for a WS. Still excited and ready to get the year going. Never know what’s going to happen playing 162. One thing for sure…The vibe in this pic is gone…
It was a great run. That was the perfect clubhouse. At least Altuve will retire an Astro. Out of curiosity where did you get that picture? I wouldn't mind blowing it up to a 16x20 and getting it signed I have game used bats and jerseys of all of them. That would be a cool add to the Man cave
Reportedly $10 million per year higher then then the next highest bidder, glad it's over, super happy for him but now he is a Red Sox and I hope he crashes and burns.................please HEB, take that putrid salsa of his off your shelves As others have mentioned, this feels like a soft rebuild until some of these contracts come off the books. I think we "could" win the division, but won't be shocked if we dont, this just feels different then the last 7 years. I am expecting an above average team, but not elite............whatever it is, I am in and can't wait to watch some baseball
Is the whole outfield being horrendous any worse than CF, LF and 1B being horrendous instead? Mind you Tucker only played half a season so it was basically 2.5 holes in the OF last year. We had 3 ugly spots in our lineup last season, we have 3 ugly spots in our lineup this season. The fact that they are all in the outfield means nothing.
I hear you… but no matter how you slice it, losing Tucker, Bregman and Pressly makes this team weaker.
Our team went into last season with a healthy Tucker and McCormick coming off a very good 2023. Abreu was bad in 2023 but had a really good postseason. That's a much, much better position than what we're looking at at this point of the season. This offseason and expected lineup is much more bleak.
Everyone had a great offseason, worked hard and are heading into camp in the best shape of their lives.
If the Astros don’t see big improvements from several of their top prospects in the next 4 months, the run is probably over and a rebuild is in order.
Need someone Leon, Smith, Melton, Whitcomb, Desenzo to step up and earn a spot. Dubon, Chaz and Meyers are starters would be a disaster.