HOUSTON -- The Astros' equipment truck will pull out of the Daikin Park loading dock on Thursday afternoon and begin the 1,121-mile drive east to West Palm Beach, Fla., where pitchers and catchers will report next week for the start of Spring Training. In the rearview mirror will be a hectic offseason in which four key members of the 2022 World Series championship team -- third baseman Alex Bregman, right fielder Kyle Tucker, reliever Ryan Pressly and starting pitcher Justin Verlander -- moved on. Tucker and Pressly were traded to the Cubs, Verlander signed with the Giants and Bregman, who remains a free agent, is unlikely to return to Houston. Christian Walker takes over as the starter at first base, Isaac Paredes replaces Bregman at third base and will we really see Jose Altuve taking fly balls in left field in Florida? That remains to be seen, but there's no doubt the Astros enter spring with more questions than they've had in recent years. "I'm excited to get down to West Palm Beach, and our fans are going to be looking forward to the caliber of the team we're going to put on the field," second-year manager Joe Espada said. Here are three questions the Astros must answer this spring: |
1. Which arms will compete for rotation slots? The 2025 rotation will again be anchored by Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, Ronel Blanco and Spencer Arrighetti -- each of whom made at least 28 starts last year. Hayden Wesneski, acquired from the Cubs in the Tucker trade, is penciled in as the No. 5 starter, but the Astros used 12 starting pitchers last year. Neither Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier nor Lance McCullers Jr. will be ready for Opening Day, so where's the depth coming from? Left-hander Colton Gordon (the team's No. 12 prospect, per MLB Pipeline) was added to the 40-man roster after posting a 3.94 ERA in 25 games (24 starts) in 123 1/3 innings last year in Triple-A. Ryan Gusto, a 6-foot-4 right-hander who was set to make his Major League debut before last year's season finale was rained out in Cleveland, will also compete. No. 8 prospect Miguel Ullola, who last year led the Minors in average against (.163) and finished third in strikeouts (171 in 130 1/3 innings) while compiling a 4.28 ERA (mostly at Double-A), could put himself on the radar with a strong spring. A.J. Blubaugh (No. 10) is another prospect who could take a jump this year. |
2. Which young players will push to make the club? With the Astros lacking the depth across the board that they've had in years past, there are opportunities for playing time. Zach Dezenzo (No. 6 prospect) will compete to make the team, primarily as a left fielder. Outfielder Jacob Melton (No. 2) has a real opportunity to make an impact this season and could push to make the club out of camp if someone else underperforms. Espada said he's going to give the youngsters a long look in the spring, so expect the team's No. 1 prospect, Cam Smith, to get plenty of run in Grapefruit League play. Acquired in the Tucker trade, Smith slashed .313/.396/.609 in 32 games combined between Single-A Myrtle Beach, High-A South Bend and Double-A Tennessee last year and could set himself up for a 2025 debut with a good spring. |
3. Will relief pitching depth emerge? Last week's trade of Pressly to the Cubs saved the Astros $8.5 million against this year's payroll, but it also left them with a hole in the back end of the bullpen. Pressly had a down season after being moved to a setup role in 2024, but he still leaves some key innings to be filled. Josh Hader returns as closer and Bryan Abreu takes over as primary setup man, but there will be plenty of competition for spots after that. Who from among Tayler Scott, Bryan King, Kaleb Ort, Nick Hernandez, Steven Okert, Glenn Otto, Shawn Dubin and Forrest Whitley will emerge as options? |
MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
|
|
The Astros announced Tuesday that they will become the first team to unveil a new City Connect uniform for 2025. The design of the uniform will be revealed in March, before the start of the regular season, and the Astros will wear the new alternate uniforms for the first time March 31 against the Giants at Daikin Park. For the past three seasons, the Astros have worn Space-themed City Connect uniforms during Monday home games. The jerseys read "SPACE CITY" across the chest, with a grid pattern on the sleeves that emulated the star charts. The uniforms had navy pants and rainbow socks, which paid homage to the Astros' iconic rainbow uniforms of the 1970s and '80s. |
Rich Dauer, who spent 10 seasons playing for the Orioles before ending his career after three seasons as the Astros' first-base coach (2015-17), has passed away at 72 years old. Dauer nearly died in the hours following the Astros' World Series championship parade in 2017, undergoing successful surgery to repair an acute subdural hematoma. When the surgery began, doctors said he had a 3 percent chance of survival. Dauer recovered to throw out the first pitch before an Astros game against Orioles during the 2018 season. Dauer suffered a massive stroke in 2022 and endured severe brain injuries. During that time, the baseball community rallied around Dauer, a lifer in the sport. Dauer, a steady infielder who helped Baltimore win the World Series in 1983, was a career .257 hitter who played 1,140 games -- 948 of which came from 1978-84, as the Orioles were consistently among the top teams in the American League. After his playing career, he spent 19 seasons as a coach, finishing up with the Astros |
|
|
FORWARDED FROM A FRIEND? SUBSCRIBE NOW |
To subscribe to Astros Beat, visit this page and mark "Astros Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Astros or that they're checked as your favorite team. |
|
|
© 2025 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners.
Please review our Privacy Policy.
You (gahleexholly.hdhask@blogger.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages or purchased a ticket from MLB.
Please add info@marketing.mlbemail.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe or log in and manage your email subscriptions.
Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment