Houston Astros Hold Surprisingly High Spot in New Year Power Rankings

Despite some significant losses, the Houston Astros still hold a lofty spot in the New Year power rankings.

Sep 7, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) is congratulated by Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez (44) after hitting a home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the seventh inning at Minute Maid Park. / Erik Williams-Imagn Images

This offseason held some major changes for the Houston Astros, as they have said goodbye to several key players.

Their biggest loss, to this point, was right fielder Kyle Tucker being traded to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for third baseman Isaac Parades, pitcher Hayden Wesneski and third base prospect Cam Smith. Outfield was already a need for the team; moving their best two-way player at the position made the need even larger.

Future Hall of Famer, starting pitcher Justin Verlander, signed a one-year deal with the San Francisco Giants as a free agent. He followed Yusei Kikuchi out the door, as he agreed to a three-year, $63 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels.

Fellow starting pitcher Jose Urquidy was non-tendered earlier in the offseason as well, as their pitching depth took a real hit.

While it is not yet official, the Astros are likely moving on from another homegrown star, third baseman Alex Bregman.

The team made him an offer earlier in the offseason but he was seeking more money. Houston decided it could not wait and pivoted to other deals. The star remains on the market, but all signs point to him moving on.

Given all of those departures, conventional wisdom would be that the Astros are heading for a down year and rankings would reflect that.

While they did suffer a slight drop, they didn’t fall nearly as far as how the offseason has unfolded would suggest.

Over at MLB.com, contributors compiled the first power rankings of the new year. Houston came in at No. 9, dropping only one spot from the pre-free agency power rankings which were released in November.

“You might have expected a more precipitous drop for the Astros after they traded Kyle Tucker and have probably moved on from free agent Alex Bregman. But adding Isaac Paredes in the Tucker deal and Christian Walker via free agency does provide some muscle, and this is still a team that has won division titles in each of the past seven full seasons. We’ll see how long they can keep this up, but they’re still the top AL West team in these rankings,” wrote Will Leitch.

The veteran additions to replace Bregman and upgrade what was a disaster in 2024 at first base will certainly help keep the team afloat. If they can find another starting-caliber outfielder, whether it is via trade or free agency, their lineup should be able to survive the losses, although replacing All-Star players is never an easy feat.

Their strength this season is going to be on the mound, where they suffered losses in free agency but have some solid arms still in place. If pitchers returning from injury, Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr. and Cristian Javier can return to form, they will be the favorites in the AL West again.

A bounce back is fair to assume from the Texas Rangers, the Athletics and Los Angeles Angels as they have all spent money. But the Seattle Mariners still haven’t added to their offense, putting the Astros as the leaders in the clubhouse again currently.