Astros' stalled commitment to Opening Day roster can only mean one thing

The Houston Astros appear to be waiting until the very last minute before finalizing the team's 2026 Opening Day roster. Why? Because nobody knows whether or not Jeremy Peña will be ready when the season gets underway on Thursday afternoon at Daikin Park.

Peña suffered a broken bone in the tip of his right ring finger while fielding a ground ball during a warmup for the World Baseball Classic against the Tigers earlier this month. He resumed swinging a bat late last week, but his status for Opening Day is still up in the air.

Jeremy Peña will decide who grabs the final spot on Astros' Opening Day roster

With Peña's availablity for Opening Day still unknown, there's a roster battle between two players, and Joe Espada has yet to declare a winner. By all accounts, 11 of the 13 position player slots have been claimed. While some Astros fans might not 100% sold on Joey Loperfido, he's all but guaranteed a spot on roster.

That leaves Zach Cole and Brice Matthews battling for the final spot. But if Peña begins the season on the injured list, it's quite likely that both players make the cut.

Cole showed a lot of promise toward the end of the 2025 season, but he's a strikeout machine. He went down swinging an untenable 35.1% of the time during his 97 Minor League games last season. That number only got larger (38.5%) during his 15-game audition in the big leagues. This spring, he's struck out 20 times in 50 plate appearances (40% K-rate).

Matthews, on the other hand, has looked great this spring. In 16 Grapefruit League games, he hit .250/.400/.417 with a home run, 10 RBI, and eight stolen bases. Matthews would also provide a right-handed bat in left field to compliment the left-handed swinging Loperfido. While Matthews has little-to-no experience in the outfield, the Astros followed a similar blueprint with Jose Altuve last spring.

Frankly, Matthews should break camp with the Astros whether Peña is available for the first game of the season or not. Cole's inclusion, however, might be more in doubt with Opening Day just a few days away.