Astros offseason could get messy after harsh prediction from Houston radio host

If there has been a fatal flaw with the Houston Astros this season, it's been their ability to stay healthy. With numerous key players missing large chunks of the season and a litany of elbow injuries on the pitching side resulting in season-ending Tommy John surgeries for several starters, it seemed as if Houston's injury luck might be changing once September rolled around.

Alas, that appears not to be the case. Sure, Yordan Alvarez is finally back and rolling, but the Astros are scuffling, losing control of first place in the AL West to the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers lurking with only two weeks left in the season.

The injury storyline has led to some deeper questions regarding the future of Houston's current regime, with Houston radio host Lance Zierlein predicting sweeping changes as owner Jim Crane's patience may be tested, leading to accountability for a wild, two-year-long injury plague.

Mounting Astros injuries may force owner Jim Crane to make some changes

Injuries are a tough thing to truly unravel. So many factors come into play. Some players are more injury-prone than others. Sometimes it's just bad luck. But sometimes there are repeated patterns and trends that show there's more bubbling beneath the surface.

For the Astros, this hasn't been just a 2025 problem. The 2024 season also saw the club get waylaid by injuries, with elbow injuries to various members of the pitching staff becoming commonplace. As an example, pitchers such as Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, and Jose Urquidy all missed time with elbow issues; the latter two succumbed to torn UCLs, which required Tommy John surgery.

It's been worse this season, with eight different Astros hurlers landing on the IL with elbow issues ranging from inflammation to Tommy John surgery in the cases of Hayden Wesneski and Ronel Blanco.

It's not just the pitching side that raises concerns, though. Yordan Alvarez's journey from injury to recovery was marred with setbacks and misdiagnoses throughout, making what seemed like a short-term injury into a nearly four-month ordeal.

There are several things at work here. The coaching staff clearly needs to change something in their methods to help these pitchers avoid devastating elbow problems, and the training and medical staff need to do a much better job diagnosing injuries and then coming up with successful rehab plans to eliminate setbacks.

At the center of it all are manager Joe Espada and general manager Dana Brown. These two might not be coming up with the throwing programs for pitchers or actually diagnosing the injuries their players have suffered, but these two are ultimately responsible for the work of the pitching coaches and training staff.

Winning cures a lot of ills, so if Houston has the October that they're hoping for, perhaps Crane will be satisfied and these two will live to fight another day. However, if the Astros flame out, and especially if injuries prove to be the reason why, Zierlein might be right about their seats getting very hot and perhaps a new regime being brought in this offseason.

Regardless of who is at the helm, the club needs to figure out a way to get its players healthy and keep them that way.

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