The Astros seem like they’re reaching the end of their decade-long contention window. They missed the playoffs last year for the first time since 2016, ending a run of dominance that included seven division titles, four AL pennants, and two World Series championships. Instead of restocking their roster with a bunch of high profile moves, they opted to make a bunch of smaller moves around the fringes of their roster, hoping that their core can bounce back in 2026.

From 2017 through 2024, no team in baseball had a better offense by wRC+ than Houston, and only the Dodgers scored more runs during that period. In ‘25, that vaunted offense sputtered to a 100 wRC+ and its lowest total runs scored since 2014. Yordan Alvarez was hurt for most of the season, Jose Altuve showed his first signs of aging, and Christian Walker was a bust as their new first baseman. A surprise reunion with Carlos Correa at the trade deadline helped somewhat, but it wasn’t enough to lift this lineup out of their doldrums.

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With a starting rotation that was in dire need of reinforcements, the Astros focused most of their roster-building attention there. That means that the majority of the lineup that struggled last year is returning in 2026.

Notable Transactions

Out: UTIL Mauricio Dubón, INF Ramón Urías, OF Jesús Sánchez, C/1B Victor Caratini, OF Chas McCormick, OF Jacob Melton, 2B Brendan Rodgers
In: OF Joey Loperfido, INF Nick Allen, C Christian Vázquez, UTIL Cavan Biggio 
Italics = Minor League Deals with Spring Training Invite

The Astros had a surprising amount of turnover on their bench, but like I mentioned above, none of their offseason moves on the position player side of things look to be very impactful. Urías and Sánchez were midseason acquisitions last year and it was a bit of a surprise to see Houston cut bait on Sánchez so quickly after acquiring him. He was traded to the Blue Jays in February in return for Joey Loperfido, who himself was an Astros prospect before getting traded away in 2024. Defensive wiz Nick Allen was acquired in a swap with the Braves for Mauricio Dubón, giving the Astros a better infielder off the bench, though Allen can’t play in the outfield like Dubón could. Both of those moves feel like shuffling the deck chairs without actually improving the outlook of the roster in any significant way.

Order/Role

Player

Age

Position

Bats

PA

wRC+

Fld

WAR

1

Jeremy Peña

28

SS

R

651

108

0.5

3.8

2

Yordan Alvarez

29

DH

L

560

156

-0.1

4.4

3

Jose Altuve

36

2B

R

623

112

-5.3

2.5

4

Carlos Correa

31

3B

R

567

110

5.1

3.3

5

Christian Walker

35

1B

R

595

104

4.5

1.6

6

Joey Loperfido

27

LF

L

399

93

-0.9

0.6

7

Yainer Diaz

27

C

R

509

107

-4.9

2.5

8

Cam Smith

23

RF

R

448

97

0.7

1.0

9

Jake Meyers

30

CF

R

490

97

4.5

2.2

BN

Isaac Paredes

27

1B/3B

R

476

121

-0.5

2.2

BN

Zach Cole

25

OF

L

434

92

-0.2

0.8

BN

César Salazar

30

C

L

166

80

0.6

0.5

BN

Nick Allen

27

INF

R

126

74

1.2

0.2

BN

Brice Matthews

24

UTIL

R

77

93

0.0

0.2

The big story this spring has been how the Astros are going to handle the logjam in their infield. Correa was ostensibly acquired to replace Isaac Paredes after he injured his hamstring last summer during the Astros futile attempt to push for a playoff spot. Well, Paredes is healthy now and Correa is still signed through 2028. Altuve is probably going to slot back in at second base after his ill fated move to left field last year and Alvarez and Walker are both pretty inflexible positionally. There might be some short-term relief to this logjam after Jeremy Peña fractured a fingertip in the leadup to the WBC — though the latest reports say he might actually be ready for Opening Day. Even with a fully healthy roster, I’m sure Houston will find opportunities for Paredes to play, even if it won’t be a completely full-time role.

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The biggest source of improvement for the team will likely be based on how healthy Alvarez can stay. Last year was almost a completely lost season after a hand injury cost him nearly four months of the season. The 118 wRC+ he posted in 48 games was the lowest of his career by a wide margin. Correa also has some lingering injury concerns, with a foot issue forcing him to miss 94 games over the last two years and affecting his play even while he’s on the field. He made the transition to third base after rejoining the Astros in August and maybe that new position will be less strain on his body.

The biggest area of concern for the Astros is their outfield. Jake Meyers took a small step forward last year, posting a career-best 107 wRC+ in 381 plate appearances, but he missed nearly two months of the season with a calf strain. In right field, Cam Smith couldn’t maintain his hot start to his big league career; after posting a 116 wRC+ during the first half, he slipped to an ugly 41 wRC+ after the All-Star break. It’s possible he simply ran out of steam since he only had 32 games total as a professional before his rookie campaign last year. Loperfido is penciled in in left, but he’s struggled to make the jump to the big leagues over the last two years. Zach Cole and Brice Matthews will also see some time in the outfield and both have some massive swing-and-miss issues that are preventing them from really making an impact in the big leagues. I’m sure the Astros would like to push Alvarez into the outfield on occasion but they really shouldn’t for the sake of his health.