8 Astros players that almost certainly won’t be back for the 2026 season

The 2025 season has come to an end and it is time to start thinking about what the Houston Astros will look like after the inevitable offseason chaos. Not only do the Astros have some high profile departures coming that feel inevitable, but there is a coming roster crunch (especially on the position player side) that is going to require a certain amount of creativity to navigate.

If we learned anything over the last 12 months, it is that no move is off the table when Dana Brown is involved. One can debate the wisdom of some moves, but Brown is not afraid to be bold when he thinks it is warranted and cut losses when it is clear that a player is not the answer. All of that combines into a recipe for a lot of roster turnover heading into 2026.

Here are the Astros players that are not coming back next season

The goal here isn't to examine the entire 40-man roster and identify every single player that could move on this offseason. Instead, we are trying to be somewhat predictive of the moves the Astros' front office will make given what we know about their needs heading into next season along with some of the more obvious high profile departures.

Christian Walker

Starting with a spicy one here. With the acquisition of Carlos Correa at the trade deadline, Houston's infield roster is looking pretty crowded these days. Yordan Alvarez being hurt has created a temporary lineup opening for now, but that isn't going to be the case next year. Unfortunately, that could be bad news for Christian Walker whose contract is looking like a mistake right now. The Astros would love to free up some money and if they have soured enough on him (which feels likely), trading him this offseason solves the roster crunch and would likely free up some money to make moves elsewhere.

Ramon Urias

The Astros acquired Urias at the trade deadline when they were dealing with some injuries and uncertainty heading into the stretch run. However, Urias' .630ish OPS in limited playing time doesn't exactly get one excited and he feels a bit redundant with Mauricio Dubon who is more versatile and who the organization seems to love. Going into his last year of arbitration, Urias is a prime nontender candidate.

Jesus Sanchez

The logic behind trading for Jesus Sanchez was sound at the time. Houston really needed a left-handed bat that could hit for power and Sanchez was among the best options available on the trade market at the time that fit the bill. Unfortunately, Sanchez has a .194/.270/.328 in 148 plate appearances since the trade as of September 25 including just three home runs. Expect the Astros to move on from Sanchez and explore the lefty bat market heavily this offseason.

Framber Valdez

Probably the easiest choice on the entire list right here. Valdez is going to be a looking for a massive free agent payday as one of the best pitchers on the market, the Astros have shown no willingness to be the ones to pay him, and now it feels like Valdez's relationship with the organization is strained in the wake of the Cesar Salazar drama. Unless the rest of the league has put Valdez on their naughty list, he is as good as gone.

Taylor Trammell

Again, this is just a matter of Trammell being a guy with an already limited role on the team and Houston probably concluding that they can do better. Trammell has dealt with some injuries which is unfortunate, but the Astros can find a bench outfielder that provides more than Trammell does even when he is healthy for cheap.

Craig Kimbrel

Kimbrel has actually pitched pretty well since the Astros scooped him up, but his inclusion on this list is just a recognition of the fact that Father Time is undefeated and the fact that his FIP seems to indicate that his success with Houston has been at least partially lucky. If he wants to sign back cheap, then sure...give Kimbrel a shot. However, he isn't going to want to do that and the Astros have bigger fish to fry than rolling the dice on Kimbrel agains especially if Josh Hader returns healthy.

Lance McCullers Jr.

The hope was that Lance McCullers Jr. would finally make his return and look like the guy that the Astros gave $85 million before the 2021 season. Unfortunately, that isn't how things went down and now it is hard to see a role for him going forward. One could see Houston trying him in the bullpen given how much they owe him anyways and Luis Garcia's injury muddies the waters a bit, but the best path forward probably involves finding another team that would take on some of McCullers Jr. contract and moving on.

Chas McCormick

This move has been a couple years in the making, but it does appear as though the Astros are going to finally cut Chas McCormick loose. He can't stay healthy and even when he is healthy, McCormick hasn't performed on the field for two seasons now. Cam Smith's rookie struggles aside, there isn't a role for McCormick in the future and he could definitely benefit from a change of scenery.