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It's that time of year. Get your turkeys ready, prepare your favorite sides (which are the best part!), and get ready to meditate on all that you're thankful for. When it comes to the Houston Astros, there are some clear blessings, but what would fandom be without some grievances as well?
After missing the playoffs for the first time in a decade, it might feel like the disappointments will take center stage during the season of thanks, but let's try to keep a level head. It's time to call a spade and be real. There are positives and negatives that deserve consideration.
Three things the Houston Astros should be thankful for
1. The emergence of new stars
It feels like the last few years have seen an exodus of stars from Houston's orbit. Carlos Correa is back, albeit diminished from his peak when he left. George Springer is lighting it up in Toronto. Justin Verlander has departed twice. Last winter saw Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman make their exits.
However, the star power has regenerated. Hunter Brown's top-three Cy Young finish was a fantastic development that came with a nice bonus. Jeremy Peña's Silver Slugger nomination was the culmination of years of potential finally turning into top-tier production.
Beyond those two, Isaac Paredes was on an impressive trajectory before his hamstring injury derailed his season, and while Cam Smith is more of a hypothetical, he's got all of the talent to join the next constellation.
2. An appreciation of Yordan Alvarez
A slow start and a fractured hand kept Yordan Alvarez out of the spotlight for much of the season. Once his hand finally healed, he posted a .369/.462/.569 line over 19 second-half games was a reminder of the unstoppable force that he can be. His untimely September ankle injury was the final nail in the coffin of the Astros' collapse.
Since 2021, Alvarez has owned a 160 wRC+, trailing only Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani in that span for the best mark in the league. Not that anyone truly needs a reminder, but Alvarez is one of the most fearsome hitters in the game, and it's frankly a miracle the Astros held on for as long as they did with him missing the vast majority of 2025.
3. A top-flight bullpen, when everyone is healthy
The Astros' bullpen finished the year with a 3.70 ERA, which ranked eighth in baseball. That's a solid performance, no doubt, but it sells the unit short. As was the case with every other unit on the team, the bullpen sustained a litany of injuries down the stretch, none more devastating than Josh Hader's shoulder injury.
Hader last pitched on August 8, and through that date, the Astros' 3.30 bullpen ERA was the second-best mark in the MLB, while the relievers' collective 27.9% strikeout rate was second-to-none. It was more than just Hader who stood out, though. Bryan Abreu has long been a stud, Bryan King was an under-the-radar surprise, and the list goes on and on.
Two things the Astros definitely aren't grateful for
1. Jim Crane's stubborn insistence on staying under the luxury tax threshold
Things can feel kind of bleak, but that's a self-made reality for Houston. This offseason, they need a second horse to ride atop the rotation with Hunter Brown, another potent left-handed bat, and some position player depth, too. A solid veteran in the middle of the rotation would be nice as well, but is less necessary.
That might seem like a lot, but Houston already has a lot of impressive key cogs in place. This is about adding the complementary pieces to those stars to transform the club from a fringe Wild Card team to a legitimate World Series contender.
Unfortunately, owner Jim Crane is steadfast in his desire to stay below the $244 million luxury tax threshold, and that will make solving any of those needs in a satisfactory manner difficult, and solving all of them is impossible.
2. A bottom-barrel farm system
With a tight budget, it would be nice to lean on the farm system to solve some of the issues that are present on the roster, but unfortunately, that's not something the Astros possess. Thanks to sign-stealing scandal penalties and years of attrition through relentless contention, the Astros' farm resides among the dregs of the league.
Dana Brown has been working hard to build this up, but it will take time for the rankings to improve and even more time for the pipeline to produce impact big league talent. In the meantime, fans will be wishing things were different as the club muddles through a strange transition period.