Where Do Houston Astros Sit in MLB Preseason Power Rankings After Shocking Winter?

Some MLB writers still have a lot of confidence in the Houston Astros despite the loss of talent this offseason.

Mar 14, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz (21) celebrates a two-run home run with outfielder Mauricio Dubón (14) in the fifth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

This offseason was one full of changes for the Houston Astros after their seven-year streak of advancing to the ALCS was snapped by the Detroit Tigers in the Wild Card round.

It was shocking to see them trade away right fielder Kyle Tucker, who is entering his final year ahead of free agency, to the Chicago Cubs.

Moving a player instead of having them play out their team control was a change in philosophy for the franchise.

That is exactly what happened with third baseman Alex Bregman, who followed the same path as George Springer and Carlos Correa before him by departing in free agency with the team getting nothing back in return.

The two-time All-Star signed a three-year, $120 million deal with the Boston Red Sox.

On top of their two homegrown stars departing, the team also traded veteran relief pitcher Ryan Pressly to the Cubs and saw starting pitchers Justin Verlander and Yusei Kikuchi both depart in free agency.

That is a lot of talent for a team to lose in a single offseason, especially when there were already holes on the roster that needed to be addressed.

Their most glaring need was at first base, where Jose Abreu was such a disaster that he was released less than halfway through the three-year deal he signed ahead of the 2023 campaign.

Jon Singleton replaced him and was better, but still below the league average in many regards.

Replacing them will be Christian Walker, who signed a three-year, $60 million deal in free agency. It is hard to blame fans who may be having deja vu about Abreu by signing another mid-30s first baseman to a multi-year deal.

But Walker has a higher floor as a three-time running Gold Glove Award winner with the Arizona Diamondbacks, averaging 32 home runs per campaign over that time as well.

Where the team’s biggest weakness now lies is in the outfield.

Star second baseman Jose Altuve is learning left field on the fly to try and help fill the void.

On the mound, there are a good amount of question marks beyond their one-two punch of Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown.

Can Ronel Blanco replicate the success he had in 2024 despite some concerning underlying numbers? How will players returning from injury, such as Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr. and Cristian Javier, perform?

Despite all of those concerns, Houston is still viewed in a very positive light around the league. The Athletic (subscription required) has placed them at No. 8 in their preseason MLB power rankings.

“While I’ll still take the Astros in my preseason predictions, some of the other voters in this exercise aren’t as convinced. That kind of doubt is absolutely justified, and it didn’t have to be this way,” they wrote.

Time will tell if the decisions made this offseason were the right ones.

Star prospect Cam Smith, who was acquired from the Cubs in the Tucker blockbuster, is doing his best to prove general manager Dana Brown right in his decision with a torrid spring training performance.

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