Houston Astros, Jose Altuve, MLB, American League Wild Card Series

Opinion: Houston Astros Have Some Work To Do

Total Apex

The Houston Astros find themselves in a somewhat new position right now, having been eliminated from the American League playoffs before a championship series. On Wednesday, the Detroit Tigers simply proved they were the better team. Houston took a 2-1 lead into the eighth inning of Game 2 of the American League Wild Card series.

But Astros relievers Ryan Pressly and Josh Hader were not able to keep the lead. A four-run eighth inning for Detroit led it to a 5-2 win over the Astros, sending another Minute Maid Park capacity crowd home sad.

Houston Astros Leader Wants Bregman Back

Now, there is a lot of work to do for Houston Astros owner Jim Crane and general manager Dana Brown. What is the top priority? Getting free agent third baseman Alex Bregman signed to a long-term deal. Even in the wake of being ousted, second baseman Jose Altuve was quite outspoken about Bregman’s status. He wants him back and will tell Crane so in the off-season.

Brown met with Houston media members on Thursday morning, addressing a number of issues. He covered a wide range of issues, including the status of veteran players and possibly adding younger ones to the main roster.

In regards to Altuve’s comments on Bregman, Brown said, according to MLB.com reporter Brian McTaggart, “Ultimately, we will have some discussions with (Bregman agent Scott) Boras and also with Bregman. We’ve had some small talk… We know what he means to this organization.”

Brown added, McTaggart reported, “We’re not taking anything off the table in terms of what we would do, in terms of making trades or signing a free agent. … The main goals would be to get back to the postseason again and go as deep as we can go and get back to the World Series.”

Justin Verlander’s Future Up In Air

One issue that Houston Astros officials, including Brown, will have to address is the future of starting pitcher Justin Verlander. Verlander rejoined the Astros in August 2023 after a trade with the New York Mets, whom Verlander had signed a free-agent contract with before going there. Yet Verlander, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, was hampered through the season with a neck injury.

Also, Verlander’s production from the mound was not near where it had been in the past. “Ultimately, it sounds like he wants to come back, but we’re going to have some discussions with our front office…as to what’s best for the team,” Brown said at his Thursday morning press conference.

Brown was not down on Hader even after the high-paid closer of the Houston Astros pitching staff didn’t get the job done. “I thought Hader did a lot of what we’ve seen him do,” he said, The Athletic’s Chandler Rome reported. “He blew three games. League-wide, when you blow three games, that’s not a lot … Ultimately, he came in, closed out games, struck out guys and helped us get back to winning the division.”

The Houston Astros, under first-year manager Joe Espada, got off to a horrendous start in the 2024 MLB season. They were 7-19 at one point with Altuve, Bregman, Kyle Tucker, and Yordan Alvarez not producing much offense. Tucker and Alvarez missed time during the season with injuries. Tucker picked up his offense and even earned a spot on the AL All-Star Team. But his shin contusion, which later was revealed to be a fracture, kept him sidelined for months.

Starting Pitching Needs Attention

Starting pitching was also a problem, too. The Houston Astros entered this season without Lance McCullers Jr. back at all. He never even pitched in the regular season one bit. J.P. France, Luis Garcia, and Cristian Javier also showed limited to no action themselves. Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti were put in some challenging spots as young starters. As the season wore on, though, Brown and Arrighetti became solid pitchers for the Astros’ staff.

It also helped in the second half of the season to have left-hander Yusei Kikuchi perform well. Veteran starter Framber Valdez, for the most part, proved to be a rotation leader. Yet Valdez could not produce a solid start in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card series. He gave up three runs to the Tigers and didn’t get any help from a weak Astros offense.

While Espada should get a pass for this season, the same can’t be said for pitching coach Josh Miller and hitting coach Alex Cintron. Both of them, of course, are only as good as the players on the field. Yet Cintron’s approach didn’t mirror how previous Astros hitters approached at-bats. Disciplined hitting at the plate often gave way to wild swings from batters.

Shortstop Jeremy Pena did play well in the field, but he slumped at the plate. And speaking of slumps, outfielder Chas McCormick never hit this season like he had in previous ones. Picking up outfielders Ben Gamel and Jason Heyward helped in the stretch run. Whether they come back to the Houston Astros or not next season remains to be seen.

Could Brent Strom Come Back?

Word went out on Thursday that the Arizona Diamondbacks will not bring pitching coach Brent Strom back next season. Strom, who played an important hand in guiding the Astros’ pitching staff in recent seasons, is available. Could Crane, Brown, and the Astros make a sweet contract offer to Strom? When he left Houston, one reason was that he wanted to live near where he resides in the off-season.

But getting Strom to come back to the Astros, even if it is for one or two seasons max, can be a great coup.

This will be an eventful few weeks and months for the Houston Astros organization. After seven straight ALCS appearances, the recent run of postseason success—even with a scandalous 2017 World Series title and another 2022 World Series crown—is over. The Astros did not fool Detroit. Their offense was anemic in the playoffs. Valdez and Brown did their best in both starts against the Tigers.

Now, Houston Astros players and management get to sit back and watch other teams vie for a World Series title. Yes, they can get back to MLB’s “Big Dance” sometime down the road. There has been a standard of success put in place. What happens between now and Spring Training will be worth watching very closely.

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