When the Astros complete their exhibition game with the Mets on Thursday, they will be one week out from their opener at Daikin Park against the Angels of Anaheim or Los Angeles or Hollywood or Alhambra or whatever heck their name is this year. They will leave Florida after Sunday’s game with the Cardinals and complete the exhibition season with two games against their AAA affiliate, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, at Daikin next Monday and Tuesday, before resting on Wednesday.
Looking at the landscape and the roster, there are sure things for most of the 26-man roster, and there is competition for a portion of it.
26-Man Roster Sure Things
- (2) IL – Josh Hader and Jeremy Pena – A couple of things to note here – first, folks on the IL do not count against the 26-man roster, and second, Hader has been officially put on the IL to start the season; Pena is an educated guess at this point. If Pena avoids the IL – someone else will not be on the opening day roster.
- (1) Catcher – Yainer Diaz – you need two catchers but only one is a sure thing
- (4) Infield – Carlos Correa, Isaac Paredes, Jose Altuve, Christian Walker – if Pena were healthy, he would be the fifth sure thing infielder
- (2) Outfield – Jake Meyers, Cam Smith – Jake is a sure, sure thing unless he gets traded. Cam has done enough this spring to earn a return to MLB in 2026
- (1) DH – Yordan Alvarez – the surest of sure things
- (5) Starting Pitching – Hunter Brown, Tatsuya Imai, Mike Burrows, Cristian Javier, and Lance McCullers Jr. – Folks may argue about LMJ being a sure thing, but he has had a spring where he has been steadily improving, and frankly, he will get paid $17+ million this season. They will give him a shot.
- (5) Relief Pitching – Bryan Abreu, Bryan King, Steven Okert, Bennett Sousa, Roddery Munoz – Munoz may be the question mark here, but after a bad outing his first time out he has been very good, and being a Rule 5 pick they keep him on the 26-man roster all season or lose him.
For those at home, who are math-challenged, that is 19 Sure Things – 20 if Pena avoids the IL. Now for those other 7 spots….
Competition
- (1) Backup Catcher – Christian Vasquez vs. Cesar Salazar – Salazar is on the 40 man and has familiarity with the pitchers. Vasquez has more pedigree including a championship ring with the 2022 Astros. But he also has been below .600 OPS the last three seasons.
- (1) Starting Pitching – The sixth spot in the rotation (if they go that direction) – Spencer Arrighetti and Ryan Weiss with AJ Blubaugh on the outside. Arrighetti has the most upside, but the least consistency. Weiss and Blubaugh have been lights out this spring. The two that do not get this spot have a good shot at the two spots left in the bullpen.
- (2) Bullpen – There are two spots left in my bullpen and a number of arms reaching for that spot. If they go with long guys, you are looking at two of Arrighetti, Weiss, Blubaugh, and Ka-Wei Teng. If they go more traditional, one-inning spots, you are talking about Enyel De Los Santos or Christian Roa. The guess here is that it will be two long guys if they go 6-man rotation as they will have a short bullpen and a starting rotation that may not be going deep into games.
- (3) Bench Spots – You have defensive wizard Nick Allen as the one pure infielder left. You have OF competition from Joey Loperfido, Shay Whitcomb, Zach Cole and Zack Dezenzo. You have Brice Matthews, who has been playing the middle infield and the outfield including centerfield. And you have non-40 man roster possibility Taylor Trammell, who started the spring on fire and has cooled off lately. The gut feel here is that it will be Allen, Loperfido (who has been red hot) and Matthews.
And there you go – easy-peasy – a 26-man roster that will change as soon as Pena and Hader (please, Lord) return, and then when some folks get injured (let’s be a little fairer this season, Lord) or don’t produce. Or they pick up someone off waivers like King or Sousa were. And farther down the line, perhaps they trade away someone or trade for someone or hopefully get Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski back.
The 26-man roster that the Astros start the season is not nearly as important as the 26-man roster with which they finish the season.
ALL THINGS ASTROS 
32 responses to “Astros’ 26-man roster: One week out”
Dan, I think your guess is as good as anyone’s. I can’t quibble with your choices, but I do think it will come down to — at least in some cases — who has options, who gets traded (if anyone) and injuries.
And, honestly, outside of the first 19 you mention, I’m not sure it really matters, does it?
Because where the Astros are on Opening Day will be completely different than the team at the All Star break. Now, if you want to WAY out on a limb to predict that roster, you’ll deserve five gold stars. But that’s how I believe this season may go.
Will the Astros make trades? Before the season-opener? Before/near the break?
What’s the over/under on the date for LMJ to go down?
What version of Yordan is coming back?
How good will Paredes and Smith be? How good will they be allowed to be? In other words, will they get a fair shake at consistent playing time to prove themselves?
In reality, we’re likely to see most all the names in your post at some point this season. Is that a good thing or a not-so-good?
Welcome to 2026.
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The one thing I never good at Chip is knowing who does and does not have options – anyone have a source that tells you that, because as you say – that can factor in strongly to the decisions.
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The big thing about someone taking a spot when Pena/Hader start on the IL is that they’re going to have to go down in a few weeks when Pena/Hader come off the IL. Now, consider you have two outfielders in your 19 and then chose two more in your bench picks. That leaves us with four outfielders plus Yordan/Altuve/every man on deck. This all comes down to how comfortable you are sending the Pena fill-in down regardless of their contributions.
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It will be interesting to see every move along the way. That can include shuttling pitching up and down to fill the spot starter/ long relief role.
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Dan, you don’t have Loperfido on the “sure thing” list. But I’m wondering if his slash will move him onto the roster more easily than others.
He’s hitting .355/.474/.958 heading into today, and, of course, he’s a lefty. Do those things give him an edge?
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Yeah I almost included Joey on the sure thing list, but in the back of my mind I thought that perhaps they might consider options (I’m assuming he still has one). Like I said above – my hunch is that he makes the team and probably will play against right handers or more
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Good take Dan. It’s interesting. You have to consider their past patterns – for example Espada is on record, multiple times, of not liking to carry young guys on the big league roster if he can’t get everyday at bats for him. That brings us to Matthews. Is there regular enough playing time for him to be the right side of a lefty/righty in LF with either Cole or Loperfido, while some of that time will still go to Yordan to get Paredes in the lineup, while playing a little CF and even a little 2B? Or do the Astros do what they traditionally do and put him at AAA to get every day at bats?
A lot of this depends on Correa’s statement “whatever the team needs me to do.” If that is play SS every time Pena is not available that makes Nick Allen expendable and helps Matthews chances. If the Astros are only doing this to get Paredes in the lineup – well what happens if Walker gets injured and misses a month? Paredes is now your every day 1B. Now during that Pena takes a slide into his knee and is going to be day to day. Does Correa slide over in that instant? I assume those are the kinds of conversations Dana and Joe are having in ironing out who the bench spots are.
Nick Allen is an enigma. Sometimes we forget – I’m super guilty of this myself – just because someone hasn’t, doesn’t mean they can’t. It just means they haven’t. If I was going to write a case for Nick Allen, I would point that .285 career minor league average (not in a small sample either). I would remind you that in multiple stops in the minors he drew more walks than strikeouts. You would point out to me that a lot of that happened in Vegas, where everyone hits, and I would concede your point, but also point out that he hit .319 in Midland, which isn’t in the high desert. I guess my point is he is entering his prime at 27, the next 2-3 years should be his best, and he isn’t even arbitration eligible until 2027. If the Astros choose to see if he gets better, I can’t blame them. But even if he doesn’t hit, he does a lot of things that Espada can use without him batting 4 times in a game. So I think he makes the roster.
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Steven – You are right about them not wanting to keep youngsters as backups at the MLB level. Since Matthews can play infield and outfield he has value. Cole and Loperfido hit lefty so they have that advantage. I will be fascinated to see what their normal starting outfield is. Based on Spring Training I would go Loperfido – LF/Meyers – CF/ Smith – RF. (Note – Meyers is hitting like a guy who has been watching too much film of Nick Allen not hitting – .125 BA/ .327 OPS
And with Nick Allen – again – he is not hitting in Spring Training – .192 BA/ .481 OPS
My biggest problem with Nick Allen is that unlike pitchers who come to the Astros and find the magic potion (even if it is for a season), these guys who are struggling elsewhere hitting don’t suddenly start hitting. I can’t remember the last guy who was scuffing around and then came here and became a solid everyday player.
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I don’t think anyone is expecting Allen to become a solid, everyday player. You only need 9 of those of the 13. The other 4, they should be able to contribute in other ways. One of them should be a tough at bat. A guy that doesn’t strike out, doesn’t need Yordan power but has the ability to park a bad pitch in the crawfords. One guy needs to have 5 gloves in his locker and use them all well. One guy needs to be able to pinch run and steal you a bag. One guy needs to, well you get it. And sometimes that one guy that give you 4 of those is great too. We’ll miss Caratini, and as much as you all chagrin Dubby, the Astros are going to miss that flexibility. But I get a franchise doesn’t need to pay a combined 15M for two bench spots. So we need to find the roles those two filled in an aggregate of the 4 bench slots.
Espada did not use his roster all the time. Yea, he changed the lineup a bit, but a lot of that was Dubon moving around. Heck, Salazar was once on the roster for like 45 days and played twice. We never saw Kessinger or Whitcomb or a lot of these guys get any time when they were sitting on the end of the bench. We forget they were there. Now, I think Joe is going to have to use all 13 guys. We’ll see how well he does it.
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I think I’m on record saying Allen is better than Dubon. I don’t think it’s that close. The difference is that Dubon thinks he is a power hitter (is that Altuve’s fault?) whereas Allen knows he is not. Our park actually gives him a chance to put one in the stands from time to time, but it’s the glove that will give him a roster spot. The problem is that so much of our bench is uncertain right now. In a perfect world Espada throws Allen out as a defensive star late in games and doesn’t need to worry about him coming up to bat. In reality, is pinch hitting Shay, Dezenzo, or Cole going to provide a much higher probability of a quality at bat against a team’s closer?
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Dan, looks like these are the guys who are out of options:
Paredes.
Nick Allen.
Munoz.
Salazar.
Pearson.
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Thanks for the list Chip – I completely boo-boo’d below – thought you were giving me the list of those with options (DUH!)
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Let’s see
Paredes – options don’t matter
Allen – he may head down when Pena comes back
Munoz – His Rule 5 trumps his options
Salazar – could send him down – play Vasquez and bring Salazar back up
Pearson – Has not pitched this spring due to a setback and is likely headed to the IL – but this will be a consideration when he comes off of the IL if they don’t need him (yet)
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OK rewrite this with these guys out of options
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It’s the reason I would lean Salazar over Vazquez. Neither one can hit. If something happens and Yainer misses significant time there is no doubt which one is more experienced at being a primary catcher on a big league club, but neither one of these guys can hit, or hit equally bad. What I do appreciate about Salazar is he likes to work counts, and he can be tough to strikeout in certain matchups. This team was 28th in the majors last year in pitches seen, and 29 and 30 were offenses you don’t like being in the company of. At this point, anyone that can see more than the 3rd pitch of an at bat consistently is worthy of consideration.
In the end, Vazquez is on a minor league deal. I don’t know if he has an opt out if he is left off the big league roster. That obviously affects any decision, as does the fact that Salazar isn’t likely to pass waivers. Even if he does, you have to assume he isn’t going to elect free agency, and I don’t see why he wouldn’t. If the Astros are not going to give him an opportunity with the back up catching in this state, why would he think they ever would? Why not latch on somewhere else, get into their system, and see if an opportunity comes up instead of staying with an organization that has defined your value to them.
I think it would be the wrong decision to part from Cesar. But I concede, I’m not in camp, I’m not as good at this as Dana Brown, and in the end if its Vazquez or Salazar really makes no difference in our fate. Yainer needs to make the back up irrelevant.
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Er, I mean he IS going elect FA. Why wouldn’t he?
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As for Janek, probably a 2027 call up at some point. He hasn’t done anything in the minors to get a 40 man spot now or see the big leagues. He opens at AA I’m sure. TBH, I’m not impressed, seems we always have some catching prospect that never gives us what we hope. It’s a rite of passage for this club. This tradition should be named the annual Mitch Meluskey. I don’t want to beat up on Mitch though, he was actually pretty good in 2000. Just not any other time. Maybe the Max Stassi or Korey Lee award. We could probably make a long list of possible names.
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When I was twelve years old Craig Biggio told a group of us that if we wanted to be big leaguers become catchers because no one plays that position and they always need them. My initial thought is that Brown should be targeting some guys who have bat skills but no defensive future and convert them to catcher. Then I was thinking about how our outfielders can’t hit and I’m thinking we should find those guys with bat skills and convert them into outfielders. Can we just find some guys who can hit a baseball?
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Looking at the club’s lineup, for today’s game, it could be the opening day lineup.
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Good early evening! Lot’s of comments from the crowd.
Dan, I don’t think it makes any sense to bring Pena back on the 26th, even if he insists he’s ready. Seems the club is firm on that. Hader? I have no expectations of when we might see him again. Dezenzo came up with a sore elbow during the WBC. The guy just can’t seem to stay healthy. One of these days the club will move on. I’m thinking Blubaugh might start out working the 7th or 8th inning of games the Astros are leading.
Nick Allen gets a job. Loperfido starts against righties unless Yordan is in left. Joe E. might lose the Matthews argument. I just like that he’s so athletic. And will he learn anything else in Sugar Land?
Too many tough questions Chip. If Yordan is healthy, we’ll get the version that hits. Lance, he’ll be erratic and frustrate, but he’ll be given plenty of chances unless the team is tanking around him. Smith will also get a long leash. Who would you replace him with? If Isaac is healthy, he’ll play and he’ll hit.
Steven, I think playing Correa at short as little as possible is the direction they’ll go in. We’ll probably see Allen get a couple of starts early. But a rash of injuries would sure change that. I think Correa’s feet hurt already.
Devin, that 78 OPS from Dubon just could not justify to me his 6.1 million contract. Nick is cheap. He plays excellent infield. And we’ve got plenty of quality defense in the outfield. I’m glad Joe can’t pencil Frenchie into the line up and longer. It was too easy.
We might see half a dozen catchers this season. I don’t think either Salazar nor Vazquez are good options. But I don’t know if the Astros are willing to let Salazar go. And good point by someone, our over the hill catching option might well have the option of opting out of AAA ball.
Separately, both Altuve and Diaz have been dismal at the plate. But at 2/4, at least Diaz’ BB/K ratio has been acceptable. Glass half full. And maybe Jose, a sensitive guy, has been moping around since not getting onto the Venezuela WBC roster. My concern though is that he’s been dead pull in every at bat I’ve seen from him. He can help his team much more by using all fields as he did years ago. Maybe he can’t though.
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Lots of good points there daveb – unusual – you are usually my early morning commenter and here you are with the last comment of the day.
On the radio they said that Pena is going to start throwing and swinging this weekend and has not been considered out for the opener. I say – it’s a marathon and I don’t want him to come back too soon and screw himself up. A first challenge for the new medical staff.
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Sousa is a big loss.
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A few thoughts from my brain. I don’t share one with Brown so it’s probably not his thoughts, but I would never rely on Bennett Sousa. Being injured is a favorite hobby of his.
I’m not convinced that the Astros are actually not a smidgen better without him. Three lefthanded, one inning relievers as your primary leverage pieces, along with Abreu and Hader was going to make it tough on this bullpen, especially when they are configured in a 6 man rotation. If I assume De Los Santos in there that is probably another 20-30 pitch guy that you would rather keep under 20 when you can, which translates to 3 out guy. It was going to create a gumby spot everytime Javier or McCullers or Arrighetti doesn’t get out of the 4th. But, now, no Hader, no Sousa, they have the flexibility of carrying Munoz for a little while longer and getting 2 long guys down there.
Brown said on Wednesday they will open in a 5 man rotation. But I can’t see how they stay that way long. Imai has never pitched on 4 days rest. McCullers probably shouldn’t. I’m not even sure Burrows should be in a 5 man rotation – as a perspective, Hunter Brown has thrown in the last 3 years over 8500 pitches. He threw 2962 pitches last year. Mike Burrows threw 1537. He was my breakout candidate before anyone elses, but he is also my breakdown candidate. Not saying he will, just saying he has never thrown 2000 pitches in a season, at any level, in his life.
I know they are trying to save the bullpen. They’ve been vocal in wanting 8 arms available. But its an either/or in this world. If I had my choice, I would be saving rotation arms. Maybe Hunter Brown doesn’t need to set a career high in pitches thrown in a season for a 4th season in a row. Maybe we don’t need to test Imai pitching on one less day rest than he has his entire life. Maybe Mike Burrows was pulled at 75-80 pitches so much for a reason. Maybe Lance will need an extra day rest to have the sharpness to keep his velo and spin rate where he needs them. You can always do a BP shuttle with SL to get a fresh long arm up every time a long guy has to go 3 innings. But they didn’t ask me. And I’m sure they have a room full of professionals talking about this daily.
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Weiss threw 42 pitches tonight and 17 of them were strikes. Lambert was not any help either. Abreu got three outs but it included 2 walks and 3 K’s. With a week to go, we really need those 13 guys ending up with jobs on the mound to get sharp. Arguably we’ve lost our two most effective lefties indefinitely.
And our club has hit .191 with a .611 OPS. At this point, spring stats should be important.
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I mentioned this before with Weiss. I watched him pitch. I wasn’t impressed. I know the stat line at the time was top notch and everyone on socials was going on, but I saw a guy that got some stuff by a few guys in short sample because you can do that when you hit 95-96. But he also had thrown quite a few non-competitive pitches, enough to make me concerned about his command. 17 strikes in 42 pitches does not surprise me the least bit.
He has stuff. He is a good 2M dollar lottery ticket. Enough to make you take a good look, but not enough to make you think you are ruined if it doesn’t work out.
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I guess I would say that with very few exceptions the pitchers have been sharp. Of course this would be a bad time to lose that sharpness.
Don’t know what to say about the hitting. The only thing they have been good at is drawing walks this spring.
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Here is the article on Sousa’s injury
Bennett Sousa To Begin Season On Injured List – MLB Trade Rumors
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GM Brown has not impressed me at all. It appears, of course, things began to go south when Luhnow was fired and the huge boulder gained speed with the Click mishandling by Crane.
Yes, I am spoilt by the golden age that the club had.
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I read the Athletic. Until today though, nothing written there about the Astros has given me reason to pass it along. Apparently we don’t have much going for us. But today, Eno Sarris is calling Cam Smiths breakout in 2026, although he did fudge a bit and say that it might take until 2027 for Cam to have enough reps for it all to come together. I’m impatient. I hope Eno is correct.
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Is anyone else here worried about Altuve? Yeah, yeah, I know some of you were WORRIED last year, but he’s not looking good, guys. Will he get it together by Opening Day? Or is this going to be an albatross for Joe?
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Yes Chip, I have been keeping my worries about Altuve under wraps hoping for the best. It seems he cannot catch up to the fast ball right now or he is having vision issues. I hope he can turn things around so he can reach the coveted 3000 hits.
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On the spring, Yainer is hitting .080. Walker, .094. Altuve, .135. Yainer will end up with a .700 plus OPS on the season, serviceable for a catcher, but unless he produces something up above the .750 range, I’ll be disappointed in what he has not become as a hitter. Jose at 36 is in decline and will be frustrating to watch at times, but he’ll hit enough. Not sure if he’ll belong in the two slot all year, but unless a guy like Brice Matthews turns into a hitter with some OBP, Altuve will remain up there. Walker will probably get more time to come out of his funk than he deserves, but if there is going to be any disenchantment in the clubhouse, it would come if and when Isaac takes at bats away from our 20 million guy at first. Are these guys really going to start hitting next Thursday, when stats go from meaningless to meaningful?
It’s good to see both Matthews and Smith productive, again, even if it’s only spring. But clearly Zach Cole has punched his card to Sugar Land based on his own spring stats. 17 K’s in 34 at bats? And not many of those strike outs came off guys in an ML rotation. He was a front runner when he showed up in February.
So yeah, I believe that spring stats have to count, especially when you’re dealing with guys that don’t yet have a pedigree.
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