Astros’ lonely showing in Silver Sluggers a sad reminder of 2025 Achilles’ heel

Scouring the list of Silver Slugger finalists, there are some familiar names to Houston Astros fans. Kyle Tucker is among the National League finalists, and Alex Bregman and George Springer are among the American League finalists. Sure, Jeremy Peña rightfully got recognition as a finalist, but the fact that he is the lone Astro speaks to what the biggest issue was with their 2025 team.

With a roster that had Christian Walker, Jose Altuve, Isaac Paredes, and Yordan Alvarez all healthy at the start of the season, the biggest question mark for the Astros should have been their pitching staff. Injuries were at the center of the issues with the Astros' staff, and that certainly was the case on offense as Peña, Paredes, and Alvarez all missed significant time. An injury also may have been at the center of Altuve's offensive struggles to end the season.

Injuries and results not matching expected levels of production were at the center of the Astros' struggles to score runs during the closing months of the season. A reunion with Carlos Correa was their biggest attempt to solve that issue, but even Correa, for as great as he was upon his return to Houston, showed some regression in the power department.

Astros had just one Silver Slugger finalist and it’s a canary in the coal mine for 2025

Alvarez has a career wRC+ of 163, but that mark fell to 118 in 48 games played last season. Correa only hit 13 home runs last season, the lowest mark of his career outside of the 60-game 2020 season. Altuve had the second-lowest wRC+, 113, of his career in a 162-game season. Walker's wRC+ was under 100 for the first time since 2021.

In other words, yes, injuries certainly played a part in the struggles of the Astros' offense last season, but even when their stars were healthy, there was a lot to be desired.

The hope is that Alvarez being truly healthy should provide for a bounce-back season in 2026, but the Astros can't fall back on the idea that they just had bad luck in 2025. If they want to erase the memory of their September collapse, the Silver Slugger finalist reveal should be an incentive for them to find an impact bat this offseason.