Three Striking Question Houston Astros Must Answer During MLB Offseason

The Houston Astros have three questions that need to be addressed during in MLB free agency.

Sep 20, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman (2) hits a home run during the third inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Minute Maid Park. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for the Houston Astros throughout the 2024 campaign. In fact, this was the worst the Astros have looked in quite sometime.

It might be too soon to press the panic button, as this team has a real chance to win a World Series next season if they make the right moves. However, with the many questions they'll face in the winter, there's a lot that has to be done.

Among Houston's biggest concerns include upgrading at first base, the rotation, and potential third base.

Seth Trachtman of Yardbarker highlighted those three areas.

"The Astros overcame a slow start and injury to Kyle Tucker to win the AL West again, but next season could be tougher. Alex Bregman heads to free agency, and the team didn't find a very productive first base option after releasing Jose Abreu. The starting rotation has seen Ronel Blanco and Spencer Arrighetti emerge but has issues on the backend with Yusei Kikuchi and Justin Verlander headed toward free agency."

While their rotation should be an area they look to improve after dealing with the number of injuries they had during the year, general manager Dana Brown didn't sound concerned about his staff's future outlook.

"Yusei had a really good run with us and as I said before we aren’t taking any options off the table to improve this club," Brown said. "We knew how special he was with us when he pitched here and how receptive he was, but the fact that we do have a lot of those guys coming back, our rotation is going to be pretty stacked." 

His comments aren't exactly promising for Astros fans who want the team to improve their rotation, but comments are just that. If Brown finds a pitcher who could come in and give them valuable innings, it wouldn't be surprising to see Houston sign said player.

Regarding the other areas, assuming they re-sign Alex Bregman, first base becomes the biggest need by a wide margin. Even if they bring Bregman back, first base might still be the position that needs the most significant improvement.

This could be the Astros' make-or-break offseason. Returning in 2025 with a worse team would be general manager malpractice, as it was often clear during the campaign that they weren't as good as some of the other top teams.

Whatever happens, Brown has to understand the future of this organization could be in jeopardy.