Astros: Examining the current baseball landscape this offseason

The offseason is starting to simmer, which is a good thing for baseball.

For the Astros, the conclusion of the World Series didn’t carry the same meaning as it did one year ago. The 108-win Red Sox, who bested the 103-win Houston in the ALCS, are the 2018 World Series champions. Good for them. Their defeat by the hands of the current champions will sting for a while.

Regardless of the sting from defeat, general manager/president of baseball operations, Jeff Luhnow, and his staff have some work to do this offseason. What is left of his staff, anyway. On a side note, I do like the reported hiring of Sarah Gelles from the Orioles. It is always encouraging to see women join the higher-rankings of a baseball team’s front office.

Decisions about free agents, arbitration, and trades will be made to either widespread praise, loads of criticism, or somewhere in between. The Astros can only control what they can control. That said, there is a benefit to surveying the current landscape of baseball and how it could possibly affect the hierarchy in the game.