Who could make Astros' postseason roster?

September 30th, 2023

This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said there have been some preliminary talks about the composition of their playoff roster, but those decisions won’t be made until they know they’re in the playoffs and know who they’re playing.

Houston entered play Saturday needing one win to clinch an American League playoff spot and only one game behind the Rangers for the AL West lead, and holding the tiebreaker over Texas.

“We got some discussions about the taxi squad and things like that, but we have not gotten deep into the playoff roster discussions,” Brown said Friday. “At some point soon, we will. … “It’s probably going to be similar to what we have now. We’ll talk to [pitching coach] Josh [Miller] and see his thought process with the pitchers and the arms. At the end of the day, it will be a full discussion amongst the front office and coaching staff.”

Here's a look at how the Astros could configure their 26-man playoff roster, keeping in mind the roster can be changed following each playoff series:

Starting pitchers (4): Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, J.P. France

The Astros will only need three starters in a Wild Card Series and four in a Division Series. Verlander and Valdez are locks, and France has pitched better than fellow rookie Hunter Brown in the second half. Javier remains the biggest wild card, but still appears to be their third-best starter at this point.

Relief pitchers (9): Ryan Pressly, Bryan Abreu, Kendall Graveman, Phil Maton, Rafael Montero, Hector Neris, Ryne Stanek, José Urquidy, Brown

The Astros have a clear-cut, top-six group of relief pitchers in Pressly, Abreu, Graveman, Maton, Montero and Neris. That leaves two bullpen spots, or three if they carry 13 pitchers. Urquidy and Brown can provide length out of the bullpen, but the Astros may not need two long relievers in a short series unless they want to piggyback them with France. If Baker prefers a lefty, it comes at the expense of Stanek or Urquidy. Lefty Bennett Sousa has done a nice job in the bullpen in September, but since he was acquired after Sept. 1, he’s not eligible for the playoff roster. The other lefty options are Parker Mushinski and Matt Gage.

Catchers (2): Martín Maldonado, Yainer Diaz

There doesn’t appear to be a scenario in which the Astros would carry three catchers. Diaz could start at designated hitter on days Maldonado catches and Alvarez is in left field.

Infielders (6): José Abreu, Jose Altuve, Jeremy Peña, Alex Bregman, Mauricio Dubón, Grae Kessinger

The Astros typically don’t go very deep into their bench during the postseason with Abreu, Altuve, Pena and Bregman likely to play almost every inning. Dubón figures to get some starts in center field with Verlander on the mound and would be the first right-handed option off the bench. Kessinger would be a steady and versatile hand off the bench defensively, but you could make an argument for Corey Julks as the last bench player.

Outfielders (5): Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Chas McCormick, Michael Brantley, Jake Meyers

Even if Brantley doesn’t start every game, his bat off the bench from the left side would be a huge weapon. Meyers would be available to pinch-run and come in as a defensive replacement late in games.