If Hader is out for more than half the season then we will miss the playoffs again and be under .500 for the year.
Lmao if this is true then we aren’t making the playoffs regardless how much he pitches. There’s not a closer in the history of baseball that is the difference between being under .500 and making the playoffs just by missing half a season.
It's not that he's just a closer but the rotation. Last year we needed the pen to be on their A game to win games (our pen being strong is worth more than Yordan playing 100+ games). Our pen is our strength and a mixed rotation won't be able to save the starters or lack of offense when it happens.
He only traded Abreu because the deal he really wanted was poo-poo'd by Dusty and Crane. St Louis was ready to flip us Contreras for Urquidy. **** Dusty and Crane. I wouldn't mind the Walker for Murphy deal. It would free up $6M for the next 2 years, though we would have to have Murphy for 2028 at $15M. Also gives us an off ramp from Diaz if Janek is ready to take over in 2028. $6M goes a long way to upgrading over Allen.
I think you got like 3 or 4 things wrong with that roster prediction. Which is a lot as there are like 18 or 20 spots written in pen. that’s not a criticism as I like what you predicted better than what I think the Astros will actually do. Maybe I’m being overly pessimistic. Here is who my 26 would be if everyone was healthy: Diaz, Walker, Paredes, Pena, Correa, Alvarez, Meyers, Sanchez Bench: Cole (plays a lot), Dezenzo- plays against every LHP while Sanchez sits, Salazar, modern day AE. If Cole ***** the bed then Shay Whitcomb Brown, Javier, Imai, burrows, Arrighetti, blubaugh. Hader, Abreu, king, Okert, Sousa, Pearson, who cares. Smith plays CF in the minors until 7/1, Ullola stays down until someone gets hurt, LMJ gets DFA’d. Altuve and Alvarez and Paredes share LF/DH/2B. Cole pinch runs and plays defense every single day for whoever is in left field and plays CF 2x’s a week for Jake meyers (who PR and plays defense every day Cole starts in Cf). Strict platoon in RF. If Dezenzo hits 2 months in I trade Sanchez. None of this is prediction, it’s all preference. Modern day AE comes in and plays defense and PR every single game the Astros are leading in the 7th at 2B regardless of if it’s Paredes or Altuve. thats your best squad for 2026 imo. this team might win 78 or it might win 104. Very high beta team.
So, I guess were not making any more relative moves, not sure how running it back minus Framber is making us better than last year...........we think this OF is OK, I don't.......it's not even average. This sucks because I spend all summer watching this team and getting my hopes up but if I am being honest, I have ZERO Championship thoughts about this team as currently constructed.......maybe a wild card and then bounced by the Tigers with Framber slamming the door in our collective faces I`ll watch every night, hit a few summer games, overpay for beer and food at the park and then go home and think about what could have been in 2026..........same thing for the Texans and the same thing for the Rockets, were always 2-3 skill position players away from being "that team"
A healthy Yordan and if the 2 new starting pitchers are as good as we hope they will be then this team should be a playoff level team. They will still have to overcome Espada and I'm not sold on Dana.
This is where I’m at, living on a prayer. The margins of error thin more and more every year as our home-developed talent leave for franchises that don’t sweat the various cap taxes. Can the organization cobble together a playoff lineup w/ spitballs and bandaids and a little luck?……sure, but the odds become more and more stacked against you w/ every passing year surrounding an aging core. The arrow is pointing down
I am mostly at the point where I just hope this season isn’t half assed. If the Astros don’t have a clear rebound then they should do a full rebuild. Between Brown, Pena, Paredes, Diaz, Abreu, and maybe Imai and a few others, Houston could potentially enter next offseason with the best farm system in baseball, a big league team that isn’t terrible (with Altuve, Correa, Yordan, and good pitching depth), and a lot of payroll flexibility. If they don’t p***y foot around about it, they could have a new window open in time for 2028.
Sure, but losing Hader would be a huge loss One of the reasons we were as good as we were last year was if we had a lead after 6 it was pretty much game over (even as poorly as Espada did managing them) Take Hader out and put Abreu in the closers spot and it's a whole different ballgame
Never said it wasn’t a big loss. It’s just not the difference between making the playoffs and being under .500, even if he misses the entire season much less just half of it. Abreu had a couple bad outings back to back but other than that he was fine last year. He’s been fine in the past when he’s pitched in the 9th inning. I’m not worried about Abreu - it’s the guy that now has to pitch in the 6th and 7th innings that I’m worried about. That being said, I’ve seen everyone leaving Blubaugh off the roster. I think he could easily step in and be a very valuable reliever. All that being said, this team can’t afford to lose Yordan again. If he doesn’t play 130+ games, I don’t see this team making the playoffs. The offense looks entirely different with him.
it comes down to us having the next Jeremy Pena emerge from the prospects and the next Framber/good Javier/good Luis Garcia. Our hit rate with difference making SP was so huge. We need the Astros pitching factory to spit out two to three difference makers. With Imai, burrows, Javier recovery and Arrighetti, I feel like we will get a couple of break outs. I’m more worried about the bats, but it ain’t impossible. Peña came outta nowhere as a rookie. He wasn’t the can’t miss, early first rounder that the offense was built around. His prospect status, as I recall, wasn’t that different from our young outfielders or Matthews. We just need one or more to break out. That’s the business. If you can’t draft and develop, you can’t keep it going.
There’s no doubt a lot of upside in this roster. Virtually every player outside of maybe Pena, Hader, Abreu, and Brown have a chance to blow way past their 2025 production, whether that is older guys rebounding, prime guys having their career year, or young guys breaking out.
Ouch. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/02/rangers-top-prospect-sebastian-walcott-elbow-surgery.html
Let's look at this the other way... We need Yordan to play 130+ games AND Hader to play over half the season to have a chance for the playoffs. If either are out over the same span of time then that may well be a very bad stretch for us.
Looks like they couldn't find any takers for him. It feels like we're leading the league in players who should DH. Yordan Altuve Paredes with our current roster construction.
