Recently I was text messaging with THE Chip Bailey, creator of Chipalatta and writer emeritus here at the blog. We were discussing the most recent improbable moment in the 2025 season as the Astros took the second game and the series from the alleged best team in baseball the Los Angeles Dodgers. For those toting it up, the Astros have now gone 13 series since they last lost a series – that to the Rays in late May. They have won 11 series and split two four-game series in that time.
The comment I had about the 55-35 Astros (that is a 98 win pace) is that rolling back to the beginning of this season, I did not think they would be this good even if everyone stayed healthy. And that certainly has not been the case.
Off-Season
Heading into an early off-season, the Astros were in an apparently weakened condition. After seven straight appearances in the ALCS, the Astros had to rally to put up an 88-73 record in the regular season. This gave them the AL West title and the honor of getting rolled in a two game Wild Card series with the Detroit Tigers.
The Astros then watched as Justin Verlander, a key part to their first and second Championships, and Alex Bregman, the best 3B in club history left in free agency.
They dealt 5 tool RF, Kyle Tucker to the Cubs for a possible 3B fill-in, Isaac Paredes, a possible swing man/5th starter, Hayden Wesneski and a high end prospect in 2024 first rounder Cam Smith. Then they sent Ryan Pressly, the near perfect closer in the 2022 run, for peanuts to those same Cubs.
The Astros decided to risk repeating recent history by signing 34 year old first baseman Christian Walker to an eerily similar 3 year contract as former first base Jose Abreu had signed.
The Astros signed 2B Brendan Rodgers, who had struggled hitting in Colorado.
And that was about it for significant moves…
Spring Training
The Astros headed into Spring Training hoping that a starting rotation of Hunter Brown, Framber Valdez, Ronel Blanco, Spencer Arrighetti, and newly acquired Hayden Wesneski, would be supplemented by the return of Lance McCullers Jr. (Last seen in the 2022 WS) and Luis Garcia (Last pitched in the majors May 1, 2023). This along with potential help from the minors with prospects like Ryan Gusto and A.J. Blubaugh would give this team tremendous depth along with the hope that at some point that former starters Cristian Javier and J.P. France could also join the fun.
Leaving Spring Training, the Astros starting rotation was lacking some of the depth hoped for as neither McCullers nor Garcia were ready to join the big club and in Garcia’s case it looked like it might be a while before he would be ready.
But the big news coming out of Spring Training was the 52 pickup the team was playing with a portion of their lineup. Nine time All Star at 2nd base, Jose Altuve, was deemed no longer a good defensive 2B (he had not been good for a while) and was shuttled off to left field. He would be allowed to play at 2nd once in a while, but would mostly play shuttle between LF and DH. New pickup Brendan Rodgers and super-sub Mauricio Dubon would do most of the manning of second base.
April
The Astros were barely 10 days into the season, when Spencer Arrighetti went down in a freak injury – getting hit in the hand with a batted ball during batting practice and placed on the IL on April 8, an injury that he has yet to fully recover from. At the time, they were 5-6 and 2.5 games back in the AL West.
Ironically, Rafael Montero, who had been signed to a big contract on the back of his excellent 2022 was released on that same day – April 8th.
In a season of many next man up moves – Ryan Gusto then moved from the bullpen to the starting rotation.
The pitching, led by Hunter Brown and Josh Hader kept the team going as Yordan Alvarez, Yainer Diaz, Christian Walker and Cam Smith all struggled mightily out of the box on the offensive side.
The Astros stayed close to .500 in a month where their pitching was surprisingly good and their offense was below average. They nudged up above .500 to 14-12 at the end of the month and 2 games back of the Mariners in the AL West.
May
The injury losses in the month of May were at first sight very significant and hurtful to the team’s championship.
On May 5th, Yordan Alvarez went on the IL with hand soreness. The Astros were 3 games behind the Mariners and 2 games behind the Athletics. No that was not a misprint. It was expected that Yordan would be back shortly. Two months later and multiple changes in his prognosis and Yordan is still not back.
On May 9th, Hayden Wesneski, who had pitched decently as 4th or 5th man in the rotation was placed on the IL with elbow soreness. This being his throwing elbow and the fans having seen this movie before, this was followed by the inevitable Tommy John surgery. The Astros were still 3 games back of the M’s, but had evened up with the Athletics as water began finding its level.
Tayler Scott entered the 2025 season as the Astros likely 7th inning guy based on his performance in 2024. By May 21, he had pitched himself off the team and was released. (Note he has just been re-signed to a minor league contract. Perhaps he will return.)
On May 22nd, Ronel Blanco, who was arguably the Astros best starter in 2024, but just pitching middle of the road in 2025 went to the IL with right elbow soreness. Do I need to tell you what followed? Yes, Blanco went under the TJ knife. They were now 2.5 games behind the Mariners.
The Astros were down a second starter in two weeks after having lost Arrighetti in April. But not all the news was bad as the long-awaited return of Lance McCullers Jr.occurred in early May and even though he was pitching quite uneven, they did win 3 of his 5 starts in the month. LMJ filled one of the pitching spots and rookie Colton Gordon did a decent job filling the other spot.
Chas McCormick hit the IL on May 31, and though he had been playing limited time early in the season, it was the loss of a decent bat and okay glove.
The Astros rode a much better offense in May along with a struggling substitute pitching staff. They finished May at 31-27 and only a half game behind the M’s in the AL West.
June
June was a depth killer for the Astros. Dezenzo who should have been getting more OF ABs with Chas out immediately went down on June 1.
He was followed by rookie Jacob Melton on June 14, who had been getting playing time with Dezenzo and Chas out. But by this time the red-hot Astros had passed the blue-cold Mariners and were 4.5 games ahead in the standings.
Brendan Rodgers went down on June 18 and this may well have been addition by subtraction as it gave more consistent playing time to Mauricio Dubon.
June 24 came and went and so did Shawn Dubin with a right forearm strain. He had been moving himself up the pecking order on the leverage list and had given the Astros very good pitching out of the bullpen. The Astros were holding on to the 4.5 game lead when they lost Dubin.
In addition, the Astros lost McCullers for a couple weeks in the middle of June. This gave an opportunity to rookies Brandon Walters and Jason Alexander for some spot starts.
The Astros continued to mow down the opposition the rest of the month and finished June 6.5 games ahead in the AL West. The Astros offense in June was middle of the road, while the pitching was golden. They managed to be the best pitching staff in the majors without Blanco, Wesneski, Arrighetti and half McCullers.
July
Despite the Astros only being 5 games into July – they continue to take advantage of the injured list.
Jeremy Pena, who was having a career year to this point, was plunked in the ribs and put on the IL on July 1. A broken rib was identified and the Astros have had to go to super-sub Dubon in his place with a bit of newbie Zack Short lately.
Luis Guillorme, who had been brought up to help with the Astros infield depth, pulled a hammy and was placed on the IL on July 2.
Still as of the games of July 6, the Astros are 55-35 with a 7 game lead on Seattle and only a game and a half out of the best record in the AL and the MLB.
So, why are the Astros rolling along when so much of what has happened to them has been negative? Here are my thoughts:
- Their manager Joe Espada has their backs and vice versa. He is a tremendously positive person and keeps them concentrating on giving their best effort and never giving up.
- Their General Manager Dana Brown has done a masterful job of picking up assistance out of thin air and promoting folks that bring the right attitude to the big league team.
- The team has some kind of pitching magic going on. It does not always last (see Tayler Scott and Rafael Montero), but folks like Bennett Sousa, Steven Okert, Bryan, King, Ryan Gusto, etc. keep popping up to fill the bill with assistance from a pitching coach staff that has the Midas touch.
- Like in Fiddler on the Roof – Tradition. Even though many of the main purveyors of the last 8 seasons are gone, the tradition of winning continues. There is just a feeling that they will find a way to win.
- The next man up….In the first 90 games they have already used 26 pitchers, twice the 13 they started the season with. And already 11 pitchers have started games. They’ve also used 20 position players after starting the season with 13. And frankly as others have stated, it feels like there is a different hero every win.
Note – Jake Meyers who is having his best season ever was pulled from today’s game with a tight calf. And the beat goes on.
So, what do you think is behind this amazing team that keeps persevering through the storm?
ALL THINGS ASTROS 
38 responses to “The Astros’ 2025 timeline: Making sense of the non-sensical”
Good morning. Dan, I don’t really have any answers for you. I’ll say this; we did catch the Dodgers in a compromised state, although they get zero sympathy from me. The Astros have somehow turned all the injury adversity that keeps piling on them into winning baseball games. They don’t feel sorry for themselves. As you note, they keep bringing in guys that just want to play. Let’s face it, Cooper Hummel is terrible in left, Trammel is terrible at the plate, but both guys have helped. 30 year old Zack Short showed up on one of the biggest stages in baseball this weekend and had the time of his life out there. So who’s next? Jake and Victor might need some time off. We’ll find out this afternoon.
We can point to our remarkable pitching as a factor in our survival and in our real success. It does not look like Lance really knows where his pitches are going, but they are moving, all over the place. And he sure did get some special defense played behind him on Friday night. And then Ryan Gusto, our weakest weekend link went out and gave us his best performance to date. And Framber battled, never showing any frustration. He pitched like a leader. And then the pen just keeps showing up. Hader getting four outs against their little murderers row was flat-out fun to watch. Those Dodgers apparently lead MLB in come from behind wins. Not against our guys.
If Joe Espada gets no credit for where the Astros stand today, then we don’t need a manager. It’s just a steady, well prepared group down there in the dugout. And it’s a team playing together.
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Dave, that’s what good teams do, though. They take advantage of every situation — compromised teams, and all — and just win. In fact, that’s one mark of a good team…they win when they’re supposed to and don’t change their game.
But I’m still stuck that Framber didn’t make the All Star Game. Did I miss something? Or did they? Top 10 in so many areas. Dominant when he’s on and dominant when he’s not. Yes, as I’ve pointed out before, Hunter is in a zone, but Framber? He’s just being Framber and winning and pitching, often nothing flashy (and maybe that’s the problem).
But he’s quite possibly having a career-year here guys!
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Framber and perhaps Paredes added when others drop out or can’t — or don’t — go.
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Yes it’s a shame that participation rules forced Shane Smith and our old friend Kikuchi on the team – Framber has been better than both.
It’s crazy that the Angels are actually not terrible, yet they didn’t another player more deserving than Yusei. I love Yusei though, I’m glad to see him there.
I would think that DeGrom being named to the team and kicking in any bonuses is enough for him and he probably won’t make the trip, or at least end up on the active roster, so Framber should be the next man up anyway.
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I love Cooper. The misplay on LF is a classic example of Cooper Hummel. He is limited skill wise. It’s a routine looper, some guys get to that ball without even sliding. He vastly overestimates his own skill set and tries a sliding catch and botches the whole thing. But he is instantly right back on his feet and hustling his mistake, and catches Betts trying to leg out 3rd. And the guy never is caught without a smile on his face. He knows that 10+ years of trying to make it to the big leagues, this is his last shot. His energy in on a different level. It doesn’t hurt that while he doesn’t have major league bat to ball skills (I’m sure he could consistently take me yard throwing him batting practice, but I don’t pitch in the major leagues) he can tell a ball from a strike better than the average major leaguer. This is why I thought he would make the roster coming out of ST, and was disappointed to see him move on, and very happy to see him back. These are the stories I live for. Cam is Cam. But a 29 year old journeyman minor leaguer getting one final crack to just make a team and live out my dream, I love these stories.
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To me, we can talk about catching the Dodgers in a compromised state, but we lead the league in IL participants. Espada and Brown are just better. And some of these guys that come from no where, I’ve never seen a franchise do this. They are combining some luck with some ability to find things in pitchers no one else does to make a run for the ages. Making big time runs when your pitching staff has names like Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz in it is one thing, doing it with Colton Gordon and Ryan Gusto and Brandon Walter is another entirely.
I’m done doubting Dana Brown or Joe Espada. Subjectively, I will always armchair QB and wonder why he didn’t pinch hit for Short in the 6th inning with 2 outs and bases loaded in tied game, but objectively speaking, Short laid off of 3 VERY tough pitches to lay off in that at bat and drew a walk that put the game winning run across – once again Joe Espada was right, and I was wrong.
They got King in the rule 5. Okert was a minor league contract. Sousa was a waiver wire grab. So was Ort. Dubin was one of the few draft picks they’ve made that got here, but he was a 13th rounder. What they are getting out of these guys is amazing. I don’t think Tay Scott or Rafeal Montero will ever taste the level of success they did here again. And thats before we even start talking about “unheralded” prospects like Gusto and Gordon, that got even just smattering mentions by us and we tend to pay more attention to the minor leagues than most fan sites/blogs. If every person involved in Astros pitcher scouting/evaluation/coaching does not get the largest pay raise in Astro history we are missing the boat here.
Look Hunter Brown is as naturally gifted pitcher as you will find in the game today. Talent wise he belongs in conversations with Jacob DeGrom and Tarik Skubel. He is ever as gifted. But something wasn’t coming unlocked. One day Josh Miller suggested he mix in a 2 seamer to try and get people off his 4 seamer, and magic happened. I can’t stand the peacock strut out to the mound for visits, swing the arms a little man, but dude you are the best pitching coach on the planet. Period. Give the man a 10 year deal right now. Make him the highest paid non-head coach in the game.
The offense is coming around. But it’s still a smattering of guys that are waiver wire pick ups, low end draft picks, or minor league free agents and we aren’t getting the same from them we are from those same pitchers. But Walker is showing signs, Yainer is showing signs, Paredes has been an answered prayer, and Cam. Boy, Cam. The wrong 22 year old got the 10 year contract in baseball this year.
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And this looks like a different Framber. Even after giving up 4 runs he just stays in there, finishes 6 innings, and lasts long enough in the game for the offense to respond and pick him up. They have now won his last 11 starts. A starting pitchers job is to give his team a chance to win every start, and no one does that better than Framber except 2025 Hunter Brown, who, like we talked about a few days ago, the Astros could easily be 16-1 in his starts with even average offensive production. It’s almost looking like Verlander/Cole again, except those guys had all-stars on the offensive end helping them. The team is now 20 games over .500; they are 17 games over .500 just from these two guys starts. What we are seeing is special and could actually make me soften my “don’t give Framber a long term deal because he won’t be this at 35” stance. Maybe not though.
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I hope the Astros are at least talking to Framber’s people at this point. It would great to have our two aces pitching together through 2028. That said, no guarantee Hunter will be around until then either.
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I hope the Astros are at least talking to Framber’s people at this point. It would great to have our two aces pitching together through 2028. That said, no guarantee Hunter will be around until then either.
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Framber
10 wins (tied 2nd in AL) / 2.90 ERA (11th)/ 115 Innings (4th) / 115 Ks (6th) / 1.148 WHIP (13th) / 3.4 WAR (Tied for 6th)
So, I guess it depends on what you value.
By the way, they are 13-5 in his starts. His no decisions are 6 IP / 0 runs, 6 IP/ 2 runs, 8 IP/ 1 run, 7 IP/ 0 runs.
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Framber should certainly be in the All-Star game, but the rules just don’t always allow statistics to determine participation.
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As Chip passed along to me
Astros Recall Kenedy Corona For Major League Debut – MLB Trade Rumors
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And it figures that we are giving Walker a few days off when he is hot. Babies babies Babies
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Kenedy Corona… hmm. A career .252 hitter with 57 HRs in six seasons in the minors. Guess he’ll probably go 2-for-3 tonight in his debut.
That said, none of the bottom four hitters in the lineup tonight were on the major league roster on June 1. Hummel, Trammel, Short, Corona. And now they’re starting for the AL West leader with the third-best overall record in the majors. What a story line.
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Thoughts
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Last night was a tough ask from the Astros. The stars just did not align well. That Cleveland squad is not as bad as their recent record indicates. Anyway, that was a nice shot from Trammell. That opposite field dinger well into the Crawford boxes got me thinking that maybe we were going to get some more Astro Zombie magic last night. But alas, we gave up five runs on two misguided pitches, one to their best hitter and then another to maybe their worst hitter. So be it.
I hope the Walker family has a new bouncing baby as I try to type this. Selfishly, I hope daddy gets back quickly and continues his resurgence at the plate. I hope Jake is well enough to play before the break, although I’m thinking maybe that calf has been bothering him since before the Dodger series started. That might explain his non start on Saturday and his early exit on Sunday. Just want to get through this week with a few more wins from our MASH unit and then let them get some rest..
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Colton Gordon hit in head by line drive
I guess I could go the old joke route and say that they took a picture of his head and found nothing. But that would be normal for our medical staff. So, in a week or so they will do further imaging and find that he has a fractured skull and the word Spalding embedded in his forehead.
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surely that would be the word ‘gnidlapS’ on his forehead?
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Hahaha – good one Simon!
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What is the word on Jake Meyers?
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Hi Andre – the latest ….
CF Jake Meyers
Injury: Right calf tightness
Expected return: Day to day
Status: Is nearing a return after his calf tightened up in the sixth inning of the Astros’ July 6 game. (updated July 8)
My interpretation is that they will begin the amputation after they finish bleeding him with leeches.
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Why does this team play DOWN to its competition??
Espada, once again, runs Hader out for two innings and the team pays for it. A grand slam!
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Sometimes you can go to the well once too often. Hunter was due for a bad outing but you’ve got to expect that once in awhile. And it is frustrating when we just swept the Dodgers In LA and we lose two in a row from a less than .500 team. It just staggers the imagination.
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Our club has been over performing for quite awhile. They’re gassed. Probably mentally and physically. We just don’t have the horses right now. Hopefully this inevitable correction is a short one. We’re going to be in first place at the break. I think any of us would have taken that a couple of months ago. I just watched the short version of the game. That Hader pitch in the 10th was up and in, really well located. No other guy I would have wanted on the mound. Sometimes the hitter is going to win the battle. Cleveland is a much better team than their recent record indicates.
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The Indians were above .500 when they went on their 10 game losing streak where they only scored 15 runs. They have now scored 17 in two games against the Astros. Baseball is the most streaky and least logical of the sports to figure out.
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Hey guys, I’ve learned over the years you can’t take a snapshot to judge a season (or year). Good teams aren’t good all the time. Even the best of the best will lose 54 games a season…and that means they will win 108.
Figure it this way…Every team is destined to win about 54 games in a season. Every team is destined to lose about 54 games in a season.
It’s what they do with the other 54 that makes that team a winner or loser. Think about it.
The Dodgers lost three in a row and they’re still rolling right?
Another perspective. Joe and his coaches have this team riding high. Paredes, Smith, Hunter, Framber have all carried the load. It’s now time for Dana and his guys to contribute their part to this season.
Enjoy the ride!
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Thoughts
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The fact that this team has such a winning record being so offensively challenged is short of a miracle. They were like 2-21 with RISP yesterday I read, and they still eked out 6 runs. Had it not been for their stellar pitching, def and whatever else they may be doing right, this tm would be in trouble. It would be most helpful to see Walker, Diaz step up. For Alvarez to return his former self, including Pena once he returns. While it grieves me to watch them offensively more often than not. Can’t help but be proud of what they’ve accomplished thus far.
thanks for the update Dan.
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Baseball…. so dang finicky!!
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Baseball… ugh
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Dad gum it!! My computer updated and wiped out my password and I had to reset it just to post.
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The Mariners are being very helpful.
Watching Jake take a knee after trotting out to center last night further shook the credibility of our organization, to me anyway. At this point I have accepted there are alarming deficiencies in the medical team. Jim Cranes biggest investments keep breaking down and can’t seem to get fixed. He’s got to be pissed off.
Brandon Walter sure has been a bright spot in the reclamation project department. But I don’t think guys like Short, Trammell, Cooper and Kenedy have much to give us going forward, besides their positive energy.
We need the Calvary. We need a repaired roster. We need reinforcements. We need rest for the weary.
And we’re still up six and a half games. At this point, we might survive July, but Dana Brown has got to figure out a way to strengthen the Astros for the stretch run. The present 40 man roster will not be enough.
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Thoughts
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Dan: “WHY! Why was Short put into the same spot (2nd) in the lineup? Joe didn’t have enough time to move everybody up a spot and insert him at the end. Made no sense.”
Dan, I didn’t see the game, but it sounds like he injured himself while running out to CF to start the game. If that’s true, then lineups had already been set. Once they turn in the lineup to the umpires at home plate, it’s official from there.
On the ASG note…why didn’t they replace Hunter with Framber? Hmm. Grrr..
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Yes, the line up cards had just been exchanged. Jake got out there and as per his norm, he took a couple of jumps in place. That was all it took. Based on his silence in the clubhouse when asked later, the injury suddenly felt much worse than it had previously.
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Framber is also pitching this weekend.
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Thanks for the information on the lineup card exchange – bad luck there.
Unlike in the darker days of the franchise, especially when I was a kid and we were sending one player to the ASG and I really wanted to see him get in the game….I am fine with limiting the exposure. That is probably not fair to the players, but it is my selfishness in wanting our best players to get a rest.
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Yes, Framber pitches on Saturday (I’ll be there, btw), but that’s not unusual since Tuesday would likely be a bullpen day to throw. Of course, he may have also told them he would prefer the long break as opposed to the hoopla of the ASG.
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The Astros are badly wounded. They played the Guardian series with their AA outfield and their AA SS. Their staff made key mistakes at the worst times and then everything snowballed.
This is a team that went from fourth place in the division to first place in a month. They are throwing their three best starting pitchers against the Ranger’s best pitchers this weekend. It should be a barn burner. The Rangers smell blood. The Astros know it. This weekend series could be the most important of the season so far.
Then the break, and the draft, and, hopefully, some of the guys heal up and return and the front office adds some help at the deadline. This could be some fun in the last two months, three months! I can’t wait to see how the 2025 story ends.
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