Latest Astros AI experiment proof that the internet may have been a mistake

Artificial intelligence is touching our lives in ways we never imaged, and that includes baseball fans. In addition to the AI-generated garbage content floating around out there, even searching for basic information as a sports fan often leads to an AI-generated response to searches that distills existing information into a summary for you without having to click. However, what would happen if a couple more steps forward were taken and AI ran the Houston Astros' this offseason?

Well, the Houston Chronicle decided to test that exact idea out. Recently, ChatGPT rolled out it's newest AI model, GPT-5, and the Chronicle decided to ask it what the Astros should do this offseason; including roster moves and changes to the coaching staff and front office.

The results, predictably, were both hilarious and a reminder that it is going to be a while before AI should be trusted with solving complex problems or being a source of absolute truth.

ChatGPT's plan for the Astros' offseason is a mixed bag at best

Not all of the ideas were terrible. With the constraint in place that Astros owner Jim Crane would have to agree to any moves, ChatGPT floated some decent ideas including extending Framber Valdez (which almost certainly won't happen, but has merit), shifting Cristian Javier to a hybrid role, and keeping Joe Espada around as manager and supporting him with assistant GMs that would upgrade specific areas of Houston's analytics operation.

However, ChatGPT went off the rails in other areas. Clearly the AI hasn't been trained enough on existing rosters, because GPT-5 seems to think that Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker are still with the Astros. It was interesting to see that the AI preferred keeping Tucker over Bregman in it's little fantasy world, but it's a moot point as both players are gone and the odds that Houston will bring back either player are extremely low (though not zero).

The Astros have a lot to accomplish this offseason with limited resources to do so. Assuming Dana Brown is allowed to keep his job, he is going to have to be very inventive to get Houston's roster in good shape once again. However, one hopes that he doesn't rely too much on AI for recommendations because that seems like a recipe for disaster.