The Astros entered the offseason anticipating a few depth acquisitions. An injury to one of their anticipated setup relievers spurred them in another direction: a bold strike for one of the sports best late-game weapons. Major League Signings LHP : C : 2024 spending: $25MM Total spending: $107MM Option Decisions RHP $8 Russell Westbrook Jersey .5MM player option in favor of $1MM buyout Trades and Claims RHP off waivers from Twins RHP from Royals for minor league RHP RHP off waivers from White Sox (later to Marlins) 1B from Angels for minor league RHP Notable Minor League Signings , , , , , Extensions 2B to five-year, $125MM deal covering 2025-29 seasons Notable Lo ses (retired), , , Neris, The Astros very narrowly mi sed another trip to the World Series. They dropped two straight at home against the Rangers to lose a seven-game ALCS. Watching their in-state rivals secure the first championship in franchise history might add some fuel to the fire, but the Astros wouldve remained firmly in win-now mode no matter how things played in October. That didnt nece sarily portend an active winter. Houston went into the offseason with a projected franchise-record payroll. They have one of the sports most complete rosters. They were set to lose a few contributors but no instrumental piece of the core. (who eventually announced his retirement), and the relief trio of , and were Houstons only free agents of note. As a result, general manager Dana Brown indicated early in the winter that the team didnt expect to do anything drastic. He suggested their outside acquisitions were likely to be more of the depth variety, identifying backup catcher and middle relief as the target areas. Before they could turn their attention fully to the roster, the Astros had to addre s the coaching staff. Dusty Baker stepped down at years end, concluding whatll almost certainly be a Hall of Fame managerial career. Joe Espada, who had worked as bench coach under both A.J. Hinch and Baker, has long seemed to be a manager-in-waiting. The Astros tabbed Espada in mid-November, giving the 48-year-old his first managerial opportunity. Organizational stalwart Omar Lpez moved up to bench coach. Continuity was also a theme for much of the roster, although the Astros started the offseason with a few moves around the margins. During the Winter Meetings, they inked former Brewer to a two-year, $12MM pact to serve as backup catcher. That marked the end of Maldonados run in Houston. The Astros declared before the winter that theyd turn the primary catching job to 25-year-old , who brings a lot more offensive upside than Maldonado offers. Given Maldonados stature in the clubhouse, it probably would have been tough to move him fully to a backup role in Houston. It made more sense to let him sign elsewhere he eventually landed with the White Sox on a $4.25MM pact and bring in a new #2 option. Caratini wound up being Houstons only MLB free agent position player pickup of the winter. It was their only major league signing at all well into January. Thats when the club revealed that required shoulder surgery thatd end his 2024 season before it got off the ground. Between Gravemans injury and the aforementioned trio of free agent lo ses, the relief corps suddenly looked alarmingly thin behind the late-inning duo of and . Brown initially played coy, saying the Graveman injury wouldnt add any urgency to bring in relief help. Yet it clearly concerned both the front office and ownership, who signed off on a surprising strike at the top of the market. Within three days of announcing the Graveman news, the Astros inked to a five-year, $95MM pact. Its the second-largest guarantee to a reliever in MLB history and the highest in terms of net present value after accounting for deferrals in $102MM deal with the Mets. It was a completely out of character splurge for the organization. While owner Jim Crane has approved player payrolls in the upper third of the league, the organization has been averse to long-term free agent commitments. As shown on MLBTRs , the Hader deal was the first time the Astros stretched to five years on a free agent since Crane purchased the franchise in 2011. Theyd only even gone to four years once before on the $52MM pact. It was also the first time that Houston signed a player who had declined a qualifying offer. Crane and Brown considered it worthwhile to deviate from typical procedure to add arguably the sports best reliever while the teams path to a title remains clear. The five-time All-Star is coming off a 1.28 ERA showing while striking out almost 37% of batters faced for the Padres. Houston gave up their second-round pick and $500K in international signing bonus space to install him in the ninth inning. That bumps Pre sly into setup work, where hell pair with Abreu in what should be an electric back of the bullpen. Strong as that final trio is, the middle relief group does look like a relative weak point. The Hader signing meant the Astros eschewed a volume approach to addre sing the middle innings. They claimed off waivers and took a flier on in a minor trade with the Royals. Beyond that, theyre counting on to rebound from a poor season and hoping for steps forward from an internal option like or . Brown acknowledged over the weekend the team is still middle relief help. Thatd need to come via trade, waivers or potentially a minor league free agent pickup at this point. As far as weakne ses go, middle relief is one of the easier problems to navigate. The Astros dont have much concern throughout the rest of the roster. Caratini and first baseman , acquired from the Angels after a DFA, were the only position player pickups of the winter. Caratini and Daz make for a strong catching tandem. had a disappointing first year in Houston, but he perhaps found his power stroke in the final few weeks of the season. Theyll give him another shot at first base. , and round out an excellent infield. Brantleys departure puts a little more pre sure on the in-house outfielders. should provide star production in right field. has been an above-average regular and should get the bulk of playing time in left field. The Astros will turn center field to defensive stalwart . McCormick can handle center on days when trots out to left field. remains on hand as a multi-positional option off the bench. There wasnt much turnover in the position player group. That could change next offseason, as Bregman is on track to hit free agency. That even led to speculation that the Astros could preemptively dangle him in trade talks this winter, although the organization quickly shot down that idea. Brown and Crane each said the team will make an extension offer to Bregman at some point, but that wont be cheap. His camp could set out in search of a deal exceeding $200MM. The same is true for Tucker, who is controllable via arbitration through the 2025 season. Like Bregman, Altuve had been on track to hit free agency at the end of the upcoming season. It was difficult to envision the franchise stalwart donning any other uniform. The Astros and his camp all but ensured that wont happen. They locked in a five-year, $125MM extension covering the 2025-29 seasons. That runs through Altuves age-39 campaign, ensuring hell be the franchise second baseman through the end of this competitive cycle. Altuves defensive grades are declining, but he remains the sports best offensive second baseman. Keeping him in the leadoff spot maximizes their chances of staying atop the AL West in the middle third of the decade. The extension discu sion isnt limited to the position player side. is down to his final two seasons of arbitration control. He wont hit free agency until age 32, so he doesnt have the same earning power as Tucker or Bregman do. Yet hes deep enough into arbitration that hed surely cost more than the $64MM which Houston guaranteed last spring. A Valdez deal would likely go into nine figures. He and the Astros havent found an agreeable price point yet. As with Bregman, this led to some early-offseason trade speculation that never seemed to get far. For now, Valdez slots back in as Houstons top starter. That mightve been true even if were healthy, but the latter will begin the season on the injured list as he cautiously builds up after experiencing shoulder sorene s early in camp. Javier, and will follow Valdez in the season-opening rotation. will get the nod as the #5 starter so long as hes fully recovered from a minor shoulder i sue of his own. If France does need to mi s time, Bielak, or prospect could find themselves in the mix. Its a thinner rotation than the ones which the Astros have rolled out in previous years. That could be a concern around the deadline, but Brown has stated a few times its not something they feel compelled to addre s before Opening Day. Verlanders IL stay isnt expected to be too long. and could each be back from arm surgeries in the middle of the season. The front office should have a clearer idea in the summer of the extent to which they can rely on McCullers and Garcia down the stretch. The gap in the AL West isnt as wide as it once was. The Rangers and Mariners both pushed last years division race into the final weekend of the regular season. Texas got the last laugh in October. Still, the Astros have taken the AL West crown in six of the last seven seasons (all aside from the shortened 2020 schedule). Theyve gotten as far as the ALCS every year since 2017. This probably wont be the best Astro team of the last few years, but theres certainly enough talent to put them in the conversation at the top of the American League yet again. How would you grade the Astros' offseason? B 43.92% (1,059votes) C 32.52% (784votes) A 11.53% (278votes) D 6.89% (166votes) F 5.14% (124votes) Total Votes: 2,411 Jerome Robinson Jersey