In the middle of the holidays every year, representatives from Major League Baseball teams gather in warmer weather — this year, Orlando — to discuss league business. It is also when “hot stove season” really gets underway as teams begin to talk with each other about deals and free agency.
Those meetings just concluded on Wednesday and there was certainly some serious action for some teams including Kyle Schwarber returning to Philadelphia, the Dodgers getting even better signing closer Edwin Diaz, and Pete Alonso heading to Baltimore. That sound coming from the Astros at the moment sounds a lot like silence, so let’s look at what we know so far.
The lineup will remain in flux until something happens.
GM Dana Brown said both Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes will be fully healthy and ready for Spring Training. Manager Joe Espada has said he wants to limit Alvarez to DH as much as possible and avoid using Josh Hader or Bryan Abreu for more than three outs early in the season. Additionally, Jose Altuve’s position is unclear. Got all that?
What that means is there is still a jumble when it comes to positioning players on this roster. If Paredes is healthy, where does he play if Christian Walker remains on the roster (there appears to be little interest in him from other ball clubs, no surprise)? If Altuve doesn’t have a specific defensive spot and Alvarez is the full-time DH, how is that handled? More questions than answers for sure.
Clearly, Jake Meyers is on the block.
It is an open secret that the Astros are likely going to deal from the 40-man roster in order to acquire pitching this offseason. Not only do they not have a ton of prospects, but the one’s they are willing to part with won’t have a ton of value. That brings us to Jake Meyers. Despite injury, he was a solid part of the lineup last year and remains an elite defensive center fielder. There is most definitely interest in his skillset, particular given that he remains under team control.
This is bolstered by the fact that both Jacob Melton and Zach Cole are lefties (something the lineup is sorely missing) and play centerfield. Cole, in particular, is intriguing given how he burst onto the scene late last season. Those left-handed at bats will be even more precious if the Astros decide to move on from Jesus Sanchez, who was a disappointment after being traded to Houston last year. It appears the Astros may be ready to go with a youth movement at a handful of spots, which makes us wonder even more about Altuve if Brice Matthews is ready for the bigs in 2026.
There is at least one rumored pitching target.
Tampa Bay starter Shane Baz is rumored to be high on the list of pitchers the Astros are targeting this offseason. After returning from Tommy John surgery, Baz threw a ton of innings in 2025, something the Astros are sure to lose with the departure of Framber Valdez. Right now, the team has Hunter Brown and a bunch of guys returning from injuries. They will need depth and lots of it.
Don’t be surprised when the Astros have a rather tepid hot stove season.
No one should be shocked if they look up on the first day of 2026 and the Astros have done very little to improve the team. They don’t have a boatload of money to spend in free agency and only a few viable trade options (Brown reiterated this week that Jeremy Peña is not on the block). This is a team in transition that is trying to play things fairly safe as they try to turn over a roster that was once filled with veterans leading the charge to multiple championships. They won’t call it a rebuild, but this is no longer the biggest, fanciest house on the block. It’s showing wear and renovations are in order. They just won’t all get done this offseason.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.
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