Astros bullpen has bigger issues than Rafael Montero’s contract, losing Ryan Pressly

Heading into the 2025 season, the Houston Astros' bullpen is clearly undergoing a transition. Not only did the team trade Ryan Pressly, but Houston also lost Hector Neris (probably), Caleb Ferguson, and Kendall Graveman in free agency. While not overwhelming departures by themselves, it does represent a significant loss of talent when you add it all up.

Adding to the complications for Houston's relief corps is the lack of any surefire solutions to fill the gaps. Rafael Montero is paid like a high leverage reliever which has caused it's own roster building problems, but his performance the last couple of years would have normally earned him his walking papers. Things got so bad that the Astros sent Montero to the minors to figure things out. Forrest Whitley obviously has arm talent, but has battled injuries and been unable to lock in a roster spot.

However, all of those things may not actually be the Astros' biggest problem when it comes to their 2025 bullpen. Given the state of the Houston rotation as well as all of the question marks outside of Josh Hader and Bryan Abreu, the lack of minor league options in the bullpen could cause a lot of headaches especially early in the season.

Astros' lack of minor league options in the bullpen as of now could force some odd decisions in camp

Looking at Houston's current relief options, the only players who are the most likely to get a roster spot and have minor league options remaining are Bryan Abreu and Bryan King. If Abreu is bad enough to use up his last minor league option, the Astros have a big problem on their hands. King is the only lefty reliever of the bunch which makes optioning him problematic.

Given that the Astros have a number of starting pitchers working their way back from injuries early in the season, Houston is going to need to cover more innings that usual with their bullpen. That usually means swapping relievers back and forth from the minors a bit in order to get fresh arms — especially in scenarios were pitchers throw several games in a row or are pressed into long relief.

When the only bullpen arms you can swap out are an essential setup man and the only non-closing lefty, that is a problem. The situation could force the Astros to entertain carrying a "lesser" bullpen that still has minor league options, although things are obviously still fluid this early in spring training.

More Astros News from Climbing Tal's Hill