Astros seeking improved health, return to postseason in 2026

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HOUSTON – For the first time in five years, the Astros will begin the 2026 season not trying to defend an American League West crown.

That banner flies in Seattle, which passed an injury-riddled Astros team down the stretch last September, with Houston missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016. That didn’t sit well with the Astros, who believe they have what it takes to return to the postseason in 2026, despite some wondering if their window of contention is all but closed.

Not so fast.

The Astros have a bona fide ace at the top of their rotation in Hunter Brown and brought in starting pitchers Tatsuya Imai and Mike Burrows in the offseason to bolster the rotation, which was part of a bigger winter focus to improve the pitching depth.

When healthy, the top six in the Astros’ batting order are formidable, led by Jose Altuve, Jeremy Peña, Yordan Alvarez, Isaac Paredes, Yainer Diaz and Carlos Correa, who returned to Houston last July in a trade. Alvarez (48 games), Paredes (102) and Correa (51) combined to play in only 201 games for the Astros last year, so there’s reason to believe Houston’s offense will improve considerably.

What needs to go right? Health
Last year, the Astros had the second-most total days missed on the injured list (behind the Dodgers), including long-term injuries to a number of impact players like Alvarez, Paredes, Peña and closer Josh Hader, as well as losing three starters to Tommy John surgery. They still led the division for most of the season and missed out on the final AL Wild Card spot due to a tiebreaker. It’s not a stretch to say the Astros should return to the playoffs if they can avoid multiple major injuries.

Great unknown: The outfield
The Astros spent much of the offseason shopping center fielder Jake Meyers, but appear set to carry him on their Opening Day roster. He’s coming off his best offensive season and is a Gold Glove-caliber defender.

What about the corners? With Altuve back at second base and Alvarez slated to get most of his at-bats at designated hitter, the Astros are turning to the young trio of Joey Loperfido, Cam Smith and Zach Cole in left and right. All three are athletic enough to play all three outfield spots, but the question is whether they can hit enough to stay in the lineup.

Team MVP: Yordan Alvarez
When Alvarez is healthy, he remains one of the game’s best sluggers. Last year, he played in only 48 games, missing 100 games with a broken bone in his right hand, and slashed .273/.367/.430 with six home runs and 27 RBIs in 199 plate appearances. He slashed .369/.462/.569 with three homers and nine RBIs in 19 games after returning to the lineup on Aug. 26, only to suffer a left ankle sprain on Sept. 15 when he slipped on home plate and missed the rest of the season.

Team Cy Young: Hunter Brown
Brown has emerged as one of the best starting pitchers in the game and should carry Houston’s pitching rotation again. He went 12-9 with a 2.43 ERA in 31 starts last year and finished third in American League Cy Young Award voting. He assumed the role of Houston’s ace and struck out a career-high 206 in 185 1/3 innings and allowed only 133 hits. Among AL starters, Brown ranked first in opponents' slugging percentage (.318), second in ERA and opponents' OPS (.589), tied for second in quality starts (21) and third in strikeouts.

Bold Prediction: Alvarez breaks Jeff Bagwell’s franchise home run record
Bagwell still holds the franchise record of 47 set in 2000, and only one Astros player has hit 40 homers in a season over the last 19 years (Alex Bregman with 41 in 2019), which is surprising considering Alvarez is eighth on the team’s all-time list with 170 and is one of the game’s premier sluggers. Alvarez’s career high in homers is 37 in 2022, but Bagwell believes it’s about time his record is broken.