The Astros’ dynasty seems to have ended.

After reaching the American League Championship Series in each of the past seven seasons, picking up two World Series wins along the way, Houston established themselves as a juggernaut of Major League Baseball. But after a 2024 season full of injuries and shortcomings, the Detroit Tigers upset the Astros in the wild card round of the postseason.

With other teams in the American League such as the Yankees, Guardians, Rangers and Mariners becoming better by the year, the competition in 2025 will be tougher for the Astros
than in previous seasons.

It will be even more challenging considering that the Astros’ core was dismantled in the offseason. Reliever Ryan Pressly and right fielder Kyle Tucker were both traded to the Chicago Cubs, and third baseman Alex Bregman signed with the Boston Red Sox as a free agent.

All three of these players are veterans who were fan favorites during their time with the Astros, so losing them is a big blow. Pressly has regressed in recent years and lost the closer job to all-star Josh Hader last season, but was a veteran and a seasoned postseason pitcher. Bregman is an excellent defender and a reliable hitter while Tucker is one of the top outfielders in the sport. Losing them leaves a void in the lineup that will prove difficult to fill.

Although the Astros lost some key players in the offseason, they made a few moves to recoup their losses. They acquired first baseman Christian Walker from the Arizona Diamondbacks and Infielder Isaac Paredes from the Chicago Cubs. Walker fills a need at first base, which has been a weak position for the Astros since Jose Abreu’s disappointing performances in 2023 and 2024. Paredes is a versatile defender who excels at pulling the ball towards left field when hitting, which will benefit him thanks to Daikin, formerly Minute Maid, Park’s shallow left field wall.

These acquisitions should soften the blow of losing two important hitters, but I’m a bit concerned about Walker’s age. He will be entering his age 34 season, and though he’s only on a three-year deal, he’s also at the point in his career where players’ production starts to drop off. Signing him feels more like plugging a leak with duct tape than it does fixing the need for a reliable bat at first base.

Meanwhile, Parades is only on a one-year deal, so unless he’s extended he also doesn’t seem like a long term solution to the team’s problems. I’d like to see the Astros prepare for the future instead of just signing players that will hold them over for a season or two before they have to move on.

Besides the need to get value out of their newly signed players, the Astros will also have to see some production from current ones if they want to succeed. With Tucker and Bregman gone, the Astros’ best hitters like Jose Altuve, Yainer Diaz and Yordan Alvarez will have to pull even more weight and stay on the field.

The pitching staff will also have to improve. Last year, the Astros were supposed to have one of the most fearsome bullpens in the league when they picked up Hader and paired him with relievers Bryan Abreu and Ryan Pressly. But that simply didn’t pan out. Each of them had earned run averages of over 3.00 and never seemed to find their groove.

The starting rotation suffered from similar issues. In 2024, Justin Verlander, Christian Javier, Jose Urquidy, Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia all either battled injury or struggled, or both. In their place, younger pitchers like Hunter Brown, Spencer Arrighetti and Taylor Scott stepped up, but their production was shaky at some points. If the veteran pitchers stay healthy and the younger ones remain consistent, then I think that the Astros could have one of the most underrated pitching staffs in MLB.

2025 will be an important season for the Astros to set the tone of what the next few years will be like. Will they flounder without their best hitters and continue to struggle with injuries, or will they be resilient and develop their existing prospects to replace their leaving and aging players? The good news is that Houston should get a chance to prove themselves in the postseason.

The AL West division is still winnable for them this year, even though the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners have become legitimate contenders. I’m predicting that Houston will finish with a record of around 89 wins and 72 losses this year, assuming that they can avoid major injury issues. It’ll be an uphill battle to make it back to the ALCS without Tucker and Bregman, but considering how experienced the Astros are at being in the playoffs, they have the potential to show that their championship window isn’t closed just yet.