Astros Have Lots To Do Before Next Week's Rapidly Approaching Winter Meetings

The Houston Astros have their work cut out for them in the coming days.

Aug 20, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Houston Astros manager Joe Espada (19) walks off the field in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros were ridiculed by injuries last season which was arguably the reason for their second half demise which kept them out of the playoffs entirely.

Now it is time for management to make sure that doesn't happen again and while some teams have made some big moves already, like the Blue Jays, the Astros have been fairly quiet.

They started with the acquisition of infielder Nick Allen for Mauricio Dubon which was a salary dump more than anything. The ball club followed that by signing starting pitcher Ryan Weiss to a one year deal after he posted a 2.87 ERA with 207 strikeouts in the Korean league in 2025 .

For those who don't know the Winter Meetings in baseball is one of the biggest events in the offseason where events like the Rule 5 Draft and Draft Lottery will take place as general mangers negotiate face to face. This year's will start in two days (December 7th) and run through the 12th.

This will be the largest moves that are made for most of the organizations and the Astros need to be one of them.

What the Astros Need to Prioritize in the Next Few Days

Sep 14, 2025; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez (59) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the second inning at Truist Park. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

It is seeming less and less likely that the Astros will hold on to Framber Valdez and with the uncertainty surrounding Weiss's transition to MLB they will be in desperate need of a veteran starter to complement Hunter Brown.

One interesting free agent that is still on the table is Chris Bassitt who took on the lion share of the reps for the Blue Jays last season. Toronto has aggressively added an insane amount of depth to their starting rotation and it seems like he will no longer have a place on their pitching staff.

The pitching staff isn't necessarily the only area that needs work, but the outfield might be in need of an upgrade. Even if one of their top prospects Jacob Melton starts getting the lion share of the reps, he is still a gamble that the Astros simply cannot afford to take.

MLB insider Bradford Doolittle has their most recent stock price valued at No.11 in the majors and that is just not going to cut it for the upcoming year especially since they rank five spots below their division rivals, the Seattle Mariners.

The time is now for organizations to make moves and the Astros need to act or they could find themselves on the outside looking into the postseason again next year.

Chris Bassitt tonight:

6.0 IP
4 H
0 R
1 BB, 6 SO

DAWG. pic.twitter.com/BvNNDGlq2n

— BlueJays Muse (@TORBlueJaysMuse) May 21, 2025