Astros injury update brings wave of good news with one glaring exception

The disappointing end to the Houston Astros' 2025 season had many wondering what could have been had they stayed healthy. That gnawing question led to Carlos Correa expressing that exact sentiment while pleading for the club to run it back in 2026.

Houston's injury mismanagement was indeed a huge problem, though hopefully the club's offseason shuffle, which included dismissing head athletic trainer Jeremiah Randall, will put those issues to bed. The Astros will get a chance to see if the training staff's new leadership yields brighter results in 2026, as a slew of positive injury updates means the club will have its brightest stars ready for spring training, with one key exception.

Positive injury updates bode well for the Astros, though one key name didn't receive good news

Specifically, the Astros got word that Yordan Alvarez, Spencer Arrighetti, and Josh Hader will be good to go as full participants this spring. Alvarez being limited to just 48 games as the biggest blow the club suffered, and just as he was taking off down the stretch, the injury bug bit him again, torpedoing the club's chances at fending off the Seattle Mariners.

The loss of Josh Hader down the stretch was devastating, but it has also been somewhat overlooked. Hader last pitched on August 8, and from opening day through that date, Houston's bullpen posted a 3.30 ERA, which was the second-best mark in baseball. From August 9 through season's end, that number ballooned to 4.62, and was the eighth-worst bullpen ERA in the league.

As for Arrighetti, the promising youngster has battled injuries and inconsistency en route to a 4.69 career ERA over 180.1 innings between 2024 and 2025, with just 35.1 of those innings coming this year. With a plethora of arms recovering from Tommy John surgery and Framber Valdez's inevitable departure, leaving the rotation thin, Houston will need to lean on him even more in 2026.

It's not all sunshine and rainbows, though. Not only is Isaac Paredes, who courageously fought back to return to the lineup in mid-September despite a torn hamstring, not going to be ready for spring training, but his injury and recovery are expected to linger past opening day.

That has numerous implications for the Astros. Not only was Paredes, who earned his second straight All-Star selection in 2025, one of the team's best hitters before he went down, but he was also thought of as a potential trade chip as Dana Brown looks to rebalance assets to solidify the roster while working on a tight budget.

Alas, the trade possibility is likely off the table, but more importantly, it looks like Houston will go into the season without one of its best hitters and nothing to show for his absence. For a team that has felt like nothing can break right recently, his bad news is a big blow.