Astros Provide Plenty of Reasons To Tune In Despite Offseason Loss of Star Power

The Houston Astros have a lot of reasons for fans to watch them this season despite some unpopular offseason moves.

Mar 14, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; Houston Astros manager Joe Espada (19) gives the ball to Houston Astros pitcher Anderson Bido (97) in the first inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The 2024 season marked the end of an era for the Houston Astros.

Their streak of seven consecutive ALCS appearances was snapped by the Detroit Tigers in the ALWC, coincidentally by the manager who helped get their dynasty going: A.J. Hinch.

After being swept, it was the last time that several of the key contributors from their most recent World Series victory in 2022 would take the field together.

Starting pitcher Justin Verlander departed in free agency, signing with the San Francisco Giants. Third baseman Alex Bregman also decided to leave, agreeing to a deal with the Boston Red Sox.

Two trades were completed with the Chicago Cubs. The first was a blockbuster, sending right fielder Kyle Tucker there in exchange for third baseman Isaac Paredes, pitcher Hayden Wesneski and star prospect Cam Smith.

In the second deal, which was a salary-cap motivated transaction, veteran reliever Ryan Pressly was dealt.

That is a lot of talent for a team to lose in a single offseason and it should come as no surprise that it has resulted in the Astros moving down some of the watchability power rankings.

However, there are a lot of reasons fans should still be tuning in, such as the star power that remains.

Houston scored seven points from David Schoenfield of ESPN out of 10 in the star power category on the back of designated hitter Yordan Alvarez and left fielder Jose Altuve.

What Altuve provides in that category, he gives back in the defensive portion of the formula Schoenfield used. Adjusting to life in the grass has been a challenge after spending his entire career as an infielder.

Their Opening Day lineup included him and Smith in the outfield, who had maybe seven weeks of outfield experience combined between then. They both started their journeys learning the corner outfield spots during spring training.

A one-two punch of Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown atop their rotation is certainly intriguing. Both are pitching incredibly well out of the gate and will present a major challenge for opponents in a playoff series, should the Astros get there.

In the early going, offense has been the team’s Achilles heel with only three hitters producing at or above the league average for OPS+; Alvarez with 103, Altuve with 127 and Paredes with 143.

The pitching staff, for the most part, has been up for the challenge to help keep the team afloat, but they are also battling some depth woes with Spencer Arrighetti suffering a freak accident during batting practice when he was having a catch in the outfield.

The faces may have changed some, but Houston still has plenty of talent for fans to get excited about while watching them play.