8 questions every Houston fan should be asking right now

It’s an off day for your Houston Astros, and that might be the best news we’ve had all week. The team is 10-16, dead last in the AL West, 16 players on the injured list, and a team ERA north of 5.90. Yordan is swinging the hottest bat on the planet, Altuve looks like he turned back the clock, and none of it matters because the pitching staff is in ruins.

Eight questions. My answers. Your turn in the comments.

1. Is Yordan Alvarez the best hitter in baseball right now?

Yes. Ten home runs before May, slashing .298/.456/.747 (not to mention a 1.203 OPS), and I can’t think of many hitters in either league I’d rather not face right now. He leads the league in GP, HR, RBI, and TB, and he’s carrying this team in a way that should make every fan both grateful and angry, because a performance like this deserves a pitching staff that can hold a lead.

2. Who gets fired first—Dana Brown or Joe Espada?

Brown. Not because Espada is doing a better job, but because Espada is harder to replace midseason. Then again, unless you’ve forgotten, Omar López just won the WBC with Venezuela and is already in the clubhouse. Brown built this roster, and the holes are glaring.

3. Over/under on the date of that firing?

Memorial Day. Brown. If this team is still 15-30 or worse by the end of May, Crane will have seen enough. The question isn’t whether changes are coming; it’s whether he pulls the trigger before the holiday or after.

4. Was the Tatsuya Imai signing a bust?

I’ll take some flak for this, but it’s too early. You can argue the Astros overpaid—$54 million is real money—but the man has three starts. Every Japanese pitcher who’s come to the majors has had an adjustment period, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up five runs in his first MLB inning before becoming an All-Star. The clock is ticking, though. Make no mistake about that.

5. How many more seasons does Altuve have as a serviceable player?

You can argue he’s already past “impact” the way we used to define it. But he’s still serviceable, and at 36, he can still work an at-bat. The bigger question is when he stops being an everyday player, because he’s signed through 2029 ($33 million in ’27, $13 million each of ’28 and ’29). And who looks Jose Altuve in the eye and tells him to take a seat?

6. If the Astros are sellers at the deadline, what’s the rebuild timeline?

I’m afraid this organization is still in denial, which means they could get forced into a rebuild rather than choosing one, much like the Saints in the NFL. Keep Isaac Paredes, develop Cam Smith, and sign Jeremy Peña long-term. The biggest gulp? What to do with Hunter Brown. The haul they could get for him after this season would be staggering and could jumpstart a rebuild by three years. And then there’s Yordan Alvarez. Like Brown, he would bring a haul.  Both are considered signed through 2028.

7. And if they are sellers, who goes? Two tradeable pieces if it comes to that: Christian Walker. He’s hitting well (right now). Power bat. Contending teams always need a first baseman at the deadline. And Isaac Paredes. I don’t want to see it, but the Astros don’t have many trade chips right now, and Paredes has value. Carlos Correa, Altuve, and a handful of others aren’t going anywhere.

7. Does Jim Crane deserve more blame than anyone?

Face it, Crane isn’t going anywhere; owners don’t fire themselves. But I wonder if the Luhnow/Hinch scandal made him skittish about giving a front-office exec real power. He needs to go back to the drawing board, find another Luhnow-type mind lurking behind the scenes, and give that person the authority and resources to build something.

8. What has to happen between now and June 1 for this season to be alive?

Get Hader, Brown, and Peña back healthy. That would go a long way. If those three are out for months, there’s very little hope of contending, no matter how many home runs Yordan hits. The offense is already awake, and they’re still losing, because you can’t outscore a 5.90 ERA every night.

BONUS: Should Crane Call Jeff Luhnow?

I think the call is worth making. You don’t have to hire the man, but if you’re looking for someone who knows how to build a winning organization from the ground up, his number is already in your phone. The news that should give you pause is that apparently, no other team has called him either. Has he been blackballed by MLB? Hinch came back and has done well, but Hinch was somewhat repentant. Luhnow? Not so much.