Houston, the dynasty years are officially over.
Last year marked the first time in almost a decade the Astros missed the postseason. After the miserable offseason they had, don’t expect that result to be a one-time ocurrence.
The starting rotation is as thin as it’s ever been in H-Town. Aside from Cy Young candidate Hunter Brown, they don’t have any other pitcher in their roster worth mentioning. The loss of Framber Valdez is monumental and I am afraid it will be heightened when the only move to replace him was giving Tatsuya Imai a 3-yr/$54M contract. Admittedly, Imai was impressive in the NPB after posting a 1.92 ERA in 163.2 IP and punching out a staggering 178 batters. Whether or not this type of production is mirrored in MLB is yet to be determined; regardless, the Astros did not do any additional moves to ramp up their rotation.
On the hitting side, things are looking even worse. Christian Walker appears to have forgotten how to swing a bat ever since he inked a massive contract last offseason. Both Yordan Alvarez and Carlos Correa can’t stay healthy for a full season. Jose Altuve is a year older and age has started to show signs of arrival. Jeremy Peña seems to be their only reliable hitter but he will be out for the first couple of weeks with a fractured finger on his hand.
Houston enjoyed almost a decade of consistent World Series appearances and domination. The performance coming in the following years is a consequence of kicking the can down the road.
Have fun Houston, I know the rest of the league will have fun seeing you be bottom feeders.
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