Astros’ off-season outside-the-box thinking

As soon as the season was over, my baseball buddy, Justin, pulled me aside and started running down the list of things he said had to happen now that the Astros’ season was over.

Some of what he threw out there was touching almost on “Trade Manhattan for some sparkly beads” categories, but interesting none the less. His outside the box thinking brought me to some outside the box thinking of my own.

At this point, a few weeks out, I don’t remember which idea belonged to whom, but I do remember he led with the first two here.

1. Trade Yordan Alvarez for as much as you can get for him.

The basic premises are that 1) Yordan is damaged goods, a virtual cornucopia of soft tissue issues from his ankles, to his knees to his wrist and hands; and 2) Yordan is still attractive to other teams as his salary ($80.5 MM over the next three seasons), age (28) and recent success (All Star with MVP votes from 2022-2024) all will turn heads.

The big question is whether Alvarez will give you those 2022-2024 OPS’s (1.019, .990, .959) or will you see more of what we have seen among his 7 seasons – the following number of games – 2020 – 2 games/ 2023 – 114 games/ 2025 – 48 games. If he continues to be fragile going forward and continues to be mostly a DH, would it help the Astros more to go get three solid prospects for him?

2. Trade Jose Altuve and some cash for what you can get (depending no doubt on the amount of cash)

It is blasphemy. Altuve needs to retire here after reaching 3000 hits just like Craig Biggio. No matter what it does to the team.

But…his hitting has been slowly sinking (OPS the last 4 years – .921, .915, 790, .771) while his fielding has been quickly sinking – at two positions.

So, why would anyone want to trade for him? Look at one of the teams struggling with the DH position, like San Diego – 15 HRs/ 65 RBIs/.228 BA/ .298 OBP/ .637 OPS and tell them to picture putting Altuve’s bat in there – 26 HRs/ 77 RBIs/ .265 BA/ .329 OBP/ .771 OPS. And you will pay half his salary in exchange for a decent prospect. Get half that salary out, unjam the infield/DH position clog you have (assuming you don’t trade Yordan) and get a little younger.

And then walk away hand in hand with the devil after the trade.

3. Pack up some more cash and send Christian Walker off before he becomes unplayable.

Walker in 2025   – 585 ABs / .238 BA/ .297 OBP/ .717 OPS/ 27 HRs/ 88 RBIs/ 177 Ks

Player X in 2023 – 540 ABs/ .237 BA/ .296 OBP/ .680 OPS/ 18 HRs/ 90 RBIs / 130 Ks

As many should recognize, Player X is Jose Abreu and how close his stats are to Walker’s should give many an Astro fan the chills.

Send him off with some cash and hope you can find some poor schmuck of a GM, who thinks he just needs a new spot to set down and get his groove back.

4. Release Lance McCullers Jr. – swallow that money and don’t look back.

At this point Lance is Lucy with the football and the Astro fans are the ever hopeful and ever naïve Charlie Brown. We believe that this year, Lance will not pull that football away and go back to the quality arm he was for many partial seasons (I know – I know).

As I said before, if A.J. Blubaugh had taken the starts that went to McCullers, the team would have made the playoffs (not saying they would not already be home right now).

5. Swallow hard and non-tender Jesus Sanchez

I don’t care what you gave up for him – the guy playing for the Astros down the stretch was no Zach Cole. More like Old King Cole. Unless you know something about his medical condition and based on the past there could be something going on there – rip the bandaid off.

6. Go tear out those Crawford Boxes

OK – you are not likely to get this past Jim Crane and his pocketbook for those prime seats, but man looking at the stats….

Astro hitters at home in 2025 – 81 HRs / 319 runs

Astro hitters on the road in 2025 – 101 HRs / 367 runs

Astro pitchers at home in 2025 – 114 HRs / 347 runs

Astro pitchers on the road in 2025 – 85 HRs / 318 runs

That is a pretty strong swing between home and away and (sorry Isaac Paredes) but there sure seemed to be a lot of cheapie pop fly homers into the boxes by the opposition.

Well, I feel better now getting that off my chest. What outside the box ideas do you have for the Astros this off-season?

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25 responses to “Astros’ off-season outside-the-box thinking”

    1. Interesting aspect to trade YA. Depends on what you could get for him.
    2. Nobody would want Altuve so that dog won’t hunt.
    3. Pretty much the same for Christian Walker but who knows. Stop signing 34-35 year old players.
    4. Sorry but we’re stuck with LMJ for one more year. What could be weird is if he has a good year, would they offer him an extension? I hope not.
    5. Jesus Sanchez, a waste of an uniform.
    6. I would have no problem tearing down the Crawford boxes. Maybe build some seats in the outfield somewhere.
    7. Sorry, all out of fresh ides at this point.

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  2. All this will probably never happen, but I would support it as a fan. Danny Ainge traded Celtic hall of famers when they were past their best years to New Jersey and built a great new foundation for their future. Jimmy Johnson traded Herschal Walker to the Vikings for three 1st round draft picks (One of which was Emmett Smith). As an Astro fan, I’m concerned with future improvement and have no sentimentality with once great players past their best days if they be used for the betterment of the team. Players have shown no loyalty to the team for the most part when they see a better opportunity. What comes around also go around.

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  3. Jason is a controversial individual. Jason, how come we never hear from you? I’d like to explore your thoughts on a regular basis.

    I can’t disagree with any of those ideas.

    We have two guys that should be at DH every day. Yordan is so much fun to watch at the plate when he’s able to play, but he’s kind of a crap shot. A caveat though; from 2021 through 2024, he averaged 135 games a season. I’d take 125. We are indeed stuck with my favorite Astro of all time. And I know I’m going to get tired of watching Jose. But moving Yordan might be the best thing for the club If we can get the right talent for him. It gets two terrible fielders off the field too.

    Maybe they can add another expensive field level private club at the base of the former Crawford Boxes, pushed back under the concourse. They can add a narrow row of expensive box seats at the concourse level, a la Fenway on top of the monster. They can figure out a way to even out the revenue if the building can be modified. Those pop ups that settle into the first couple of rows for the wrong team are painful. Either that or get a second Paredes.

    I don’t have a problem with Walker staying, because Correa will miss games and Paredes will miss games. So three guys for those two corner infield positions provide a bit of insurance. But again, the theme has to be younger and more athletic. Seemed to me that Walker lost mobility around the bag too. We’re still a station to station offensive club. If losing money on Walker brings someone young and talented, so be it.

    Lance is miserable. So am I when he tries to pitch. He can’t be fun to have hanging around. Eat the loss and be better off for it. But, wait until he’s had a chance to throw in ST. You never know.

    Jesus looked so much worse than his stats. And he looked like the outfield was a new, scary place for him to play. And as soon as a lefty comes in, he’s got to be pulled. Maybe Dana can get something for him. Anything.

    Our club has a lot of issues. We need a bunch of pitching too. I think that’s why I was ready to move on from both Dana and Joe & Company.

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    • daveb – When you said Jason did you mean Justin? Justin I think reads the blog but does not comment.

      He goes to a lot of Astros minor league games and is a good resource for who’s on the come. He’s another engineer at my work so he has that against him. LOL

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      • Yes Dan, Justin. Bad reading comprehension. I wish Justin would chime in on occasion. I don’t hold anything against you, so Justin would get the same free pass.

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  6. I don’t think Crane/Brown will listen to me as the moves made this summer are pretty much the opposite of what I would have done. I don’t really want to trade most players. The problem with Walker is his salary. They should have signed Paul Goldschmidt for less money and used the remaining balance on pitching. I’m sure they didn’t because they knew Garcia, McCullers, and Javier were coming back at some point this summer and their salaries were hefty to begin with. They may also have expected JP France was a possibility and expected Weskeski to throw more than 6 starts.
    Having said all that I think health was the primary reason they didn’t make the playoffs in 2025. The window, if there is one, is closing with this group. I think a few moves to patch the ship can keep it afloat and get them into the postseason next year, but let’s be honest…this year’s playoffs are full of stars. I’d say only Brown and Yordan could be considered in that category with maybe Hader and Abreu as well. To respond to sarge’s comment on the last post, I disagree wholeheartedly with TCB take on Diaz and desire to trade him, but I’m not against Brown making moves if he can get prospects in return that might really move the needle. If I’m trading away Diaz I’m making sure the other team is paying as if he is an MVP candidate though.

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    • Heck, with hindsight, I would have signed Josh Naylor for 10.9 million or so dollars. I have to admit though, I was hopeful Walker was going to be a solid addition to the club.

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  10. Sounds like Troy Snitker and Michael Collins are both gone also. Snitker was another hitting coach and Collins worked with the catchers.

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  11. You have to wonder if they’re making the right cuts. The “head” is still attached firmly and it will take some time for the new staff to catch up, get traction and settle in.

    I’ll say that I may not know what I’m talking about, but change for change sake is often futile. Given the plethora of changes, you wonder if Crane has given Brown/Espada a win-now (next season) ultimatum and, if so, how long is the leash?

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    • You see this a lot Chip where they fire some assistants and then the target moves to the guy(s) above them.

      I think the leash is short.

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      • Yes, you do see it often, Dan, but how often does it work out? Espada gets a clean slate and may be able to bring his own people in, but how much leeway does he have?

        Brown hired Espada after only a few months on the job, so the question is, does Crane see them as tandem or does he treat them individually?

        Unfortunately for Brown and Espada, the injuries may be the real culprit of a lost season in ’25, so you also have to ask about how fair it is to hold management/coaches accountable. It’s a fair question, no matter where you fall on the approve/disapprove scale for Brown/Espada.

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  13. Reading Andrew Ball’s bio… “oversees Research & Development and Sports Medicine & Performance...”

    Small wonder why he was let go.

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  14. Interesting thoughts Dan –

    I don’t see a world where Yordan is traded. Not saying it can’t happen, MLB is like the WWE, anything can happen. Altuve the same. They both would only be traded IMO in a complete rebuild. Otherwise, I believe they are locks.

    Walker, on the other hand, I think the Astros will actually explore that “market.” I think Brown probably believes one of his avenues forward is Isaac on 1B. It may come up empty as paying 10M of his 40M left seems hefty, 20M would seem a disaster, but 20M would probably actually get him moved. I can imagine a team like San Diego willing to part with a decent pitching prospect with the idea that Arraez is probably best suited to solve their DH issue and upgrade 1B defensively. And 20M for 2 years for Walker is probably about the value, especially in a lineup where he bats 7th.

    There is no reason to release LMJ in the offseason unless the 40 man becomes an issue, and with the number of non-tenders I am expecting, it shouldn’t be. You have to pay the salary any way, best to take it into ST and see if a full offseason of healthy workouts maybe puts 2 MPH back on his fastball. If you get to the end of ST and he got torched in ST, release him then. Right now, since you are paying it anyway, take him into ST as a, albeit low chance, lottery ticket.

    Sanchez is a little different in you can avoid paying the estimated 6M. I would try hard between the end of the WS and 21 November tender deadline to trade him. If I can’t, it’s a difficult choice. He was terrible. It was 48 games. He has 532 other games showing he can be a better option on the left handed side of a LF or RF platoon situation than Melton or Cole. But 6M. Thats a big number for a LF platoon option that stinks defensively.

    Dana Brown has some franchise defining decisions ahead of him. Running it back with Altuve, Pena, Diaz, Walker, Sanchez, Cam, Melton, etc. are not likely to change their offensive selectivity and force better pitches. He is going to have to make some hard choices and he needs to eliminate at least half those type hitters to change the view of not being a “free swinging” offense.

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  15. My outside the box thinking has Paredes at 3B, Pena at SS, Correa at 2B and Walker at 1B. I have have Altuve as a sometime 2B, sometime LF and sometime DH. That gives him ABs. My 6th infielder is #1 prospect, Brice Matthews who can play backup IF. What this does is free up all the money which would go to non productive arbitration infielders Urias and Dubon. Non-tender those two. Try and resign Caratini for a little less money as a backup C/1B than he was making because he is two years older but wiser. That’s my out of the box infield plan.

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  16. Dana Brown has a tough job ahead of him. We’ve got plenty of questions with the line up and the pitching staff, both rotation and pen. We remain a station to station club. While the Astros were somewhere around the 12th or 13th youngest team in the league, we seemed to play old. And too many of our youngest guys are still unproven.

    The club was 17-14 in Framber’s games. Maybe he is replaceable.

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  17. Jake Meyers is one guy that should be on the list of people to move. At first glance, he finally found himself at the plate in 2025. But he also put up a .538 OPS at home. And that was not a one off.

    His career stats at home: .229/.286/.345/.671. On the road, .257/.326/.396/.722. By the way, his OPS over all in 2025 was .727. In some respects, he regressed at the plate in 2025. He had three home runs, none at Daikin. In this day and age, I don’t think we can accept a defense only centerfielder. Yes, he sure does track down balls in the gap. But at the same time, once he gets to a ball, he just can’t get it to where it needs to go. Even slow guys take a base on him. Jake has 7 career assists.

    Here’s an odd set of stats. These are lifetime too. OPS by month.

    .671, April

    .866, May

    .663, June

    .628, July

    .643, August

    .573, September

    Does he run out of gas? Is he not in great shape? What’s with May?

    Justin, moving the Crawford Boxes out of left field would be expensive. We need more guys that can hit that way. I’d like to find a centerfielder that can give us a dozen or more dingers at home, with an .OPS reliably north of .750. A guy or a platoon that would provide good defense with an arm that won’t allow so many bases to be given up. I don’t think Jacob Melton will hit enough. Zach Cole might be part of the solution. Who it the right-handed bat?

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  18. My outside the box thoughts:

    Take Sonny Gray off St. Louis hands at full salary if they include Brendan Donavan (2B), Pedro Pagés (C), and Alec Burleson (OF).

    Trade Christian Walker and Jake Meyers to NYM for prospects. Eat part of Walkers salary.

    Trade Yordan for best package of pitchers and prospects that he will command. Cubs might be interested if Tucker leaves.

    Trade or non-tender Dubon, Sanchez, Urias, Meyers, McCormick, Garcia, De Los Santos, and Trammell.

    Net savings should be around $30M leaving the Astros around $60M for more pitching and maybe another outfielder.

    Lineup would be:

    DH – Altus

    C – Diaz

    1B – Paredes

    2B – Donavan

    3B – Correa

    SS – Pena

    OF – Burleson, Smith, Cole

    Bench – Matthews, Pages, Melton, Dezenzo or Whitcomb

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