Plus: A look ahead at Houston's early calendar
The start of a new year means it's a chance for everyone to set some goals. That's even true for the Astros, who are once again among the favorites to contend for a World Series title. With the start of Spring Training around the corner, here are some off-the-wall -- and completely fabricated -- predictions for the Astros in 2024: Bryan Abreu: Abreu is so unhittable, baseball changes its rules to allow hitters to ask for the "intentional strikeout" so they don't have to step into the box against him. José Abreu: He finds his power stroke from the get-go and begins to incorporate sliding into the dugout at the conclusion of each of his home run trots. Jose Altuve: Altuve cements himself as the greatest Astros player in history by earning his second MVP award and winning the city's mayoral race in a landslide special election. |
Yordan Alvarez: The slugger hits a home run so far that the folks down the road at NASA respond by postponing all space missions while he's at the plate. Alex Bregman: After one of his horses wins the Kentucky Derby, Bregman begins mimicking a trotting horse each time he rounds the bases. Hunter Brown: Detroit native shows up at Spring Training wearing blue face paint after his Lions win their first Super Bowl championship. Yainer Diaz: After finally getting a chance to become the starting catcher, Diaz aims to make up for lost at-bats from 2023 by trying to convince manager Joe Espada he can also play the role of Victor Caratini. Mauricio Dubón: A Gold Glove winner at the utility position in 2023, Dubón vows to play all nine positions in a single game this season. |
J.P. France: The right-hander shaves his trademark mustache, but no longer gets to ask his teammates if they know how fast they were driving over the speed limit. Chas McCormick: The "Chas Chomp" is replaced by the "McCormick Moonwalk," which sweeps the country and lands him on Dancing with the Stars. Jeremy Peña: The baseball community is stunned when Peña ends his home run drought on Opening Day and proceeds to bench press the catcher after crossing home plate. Ryan Pressly: His walk-up song, "God's Gonna Cut You Down" by Johnny Cash, is heard so much at Minute Maid Park that it shows up on the Top 40 music charts. |
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Kyle Tucker: After struggling to decide whether to wear batting gloves full time the last two seasons, Tucker unsuccessfully tries to sell his teammates on batting mittens. Framber Valdez: The lefty allows so many ground balls that the infield grass at Minute Maid Park must be replaced following each one of his starts. Justin Verlander: There's not a dry eye in the house when Verlander vows to pitch until he's 50 years old, but only if the Astros trade for him three more times. |
Jan. 12: Arbitration figures exchange deadline Deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to swap salary figures, which typically leads to salaries being agreed upon for the 2024 season (if not, there will be an arbitration hearing). The Astros have seven arbitration-eligible players: Luis Garcia, José Urquidy, Bryan Abreu, Dubón, McCormick, Tucker and Valdez. Jan. 20: FanFest The Astros' annual fan engagement event at Minute Maid Park, which typically includes player appearances, autograph sessions, photo opportunities and other events around the ballpark. Jan 23: Hall of Fame announcement The results of balloting from the Baseball Writers' Association of America will be announced, with players appearing on 75 percent of the ballots being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in July. It should be a close call for former Astros closer Billy Wagner, who received 68.1 percent of the votes last year. Feb. 24: Grapefruit League opener The Astros begin their Spring Training schedule when they play the Nationals at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. (The report dates for pitchers and catchers and full squads haven't been announced.) March 28: Opening Day The Astros begin the season at home against the Yankees in what should be a tremendous pitching matchup of former teammates: Verlander of the Astros and Gerrit Cole of the Yankees. The game will also mark the debut of Juan Soto in pinstripes. |
Jason Kanzler, who was an assistant hitting coach on the Astros' staff for the past three seasons, has decided to leave the team to take a front-office position with the Cubs. Astros manager Joe Espada won't replace Kanzler, which means the club will have two hitting coaches this season (Alex Cintrón and Troy Snitker). The Astros shuffled their coaching staff following the hiring of Espada as manager last fall by promoting Omar López to bench coach (Espada's former job) and hiring Dave Clark as their first-base coach (López's former job). Jason Bell joined the staff as the Major League quality assurance coach. Meanwhile, Espada has been hard at work preparing for the start of Spring Training next month in Florida. He's been meeting with players and members of his coaching staff at Minute Maid Park, which will open on Monday to Major League players and Minor League players to begin working out to get ready for Spring Training. |
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