Houston Astros Rumors: Team still in good shape even with lack of moves

Despite not making a ton of splashy moves this offseason while rivals have been making moves, the Houston Astros are still good shape, let’s take a look.

The Houston Astros haven’t made a ton of moves this season like a lot of fans were hoping they would. The first move the team made was to add Robinson Chirinos to solidify the catcher position. Following that, the team added Michael Brantley to take over left field. Aledmys Diaz was also added for depth.

Chirinos isn’t a “wow move” by any stretch of the term. However, he is solid defensively and has some pop to his bat. Platooning with Max Stassi should make him very serviceable. The Astros should be able to easily ride the hot hand at catcher.

Brantley is an excellent addition. He provides a very balanced bat that will slot perfectly somewhere in the top five spots in the batting order. He can easily set the table for players behind him and drive in the guys that get on in front of him. Brantley is also solid defensively and will, overall, make the Astros offense better.

Diaz has a decent bat and some defensive versatility. The team seems to be hoping that Diaz will be able to be a Marwin Gonzalez lite of sorts and help fill the massive void MarGo’s departure creates. He won’t be what MarGo was to the Astros but he should be solid.

That’s all the Houston Astros have done, which is solid, but nothing super splashy. There is also the J.D. Davis trade that saw the team gain three prospects, two of which are in the team’s top 30 prospect list but this doesn’t really impact the Major League team for 2019. These moves aren’t disappointing but with many expecting the Astros to make a splash move to get back to the World Series in 2019 they can be viewed as underwhelming.

The underwhelming nature grows when other teams moves begin to be added to the equation. The Yankees have added several players like James Paxton and Troy Tulowitzki, injuries aside. All four of the Astros division-mates have also been making moves to get better as well. Chips are falling and players are finding new homes for the Astros opposition, the outlook can get bleak.

However, taking a step away from free agency and trades paints an entirely different picture for the Houston Astros. The Astros are in much better shape than a lot of their division mates and, really, the majority of the rest of the league. The roster is already locked, loaded, and ready to go after another World Series run in 2019.

The 2018 Astros put up the best regular season the franchise has ever seen with 103 wins. The interesting part is the team actually seemed to be underachieving during a good portion of the season. At one point, the team was without three of it’s biggest stars in Jose Altuve, George Springer, and Carlos Correa at the same time.

Sure, the team lost Charlie Morton and will likely be losing Margo and Dallas Keuchel but there is a lot to look forward to in 2019. Altuve and Correa should be in better health for this season. Collin McHugh will be rejoining the rotation, which should help out the team. The situation in Houston isn’t dire in the slightest.

Additionally, the team will also be boosted by full seasons from guys like Roberto Osuna and Ryan Pressly, who helped the team to have an elite bullpen down the stretch in 2018. Chris Devenski should return to his regular role after a rough, injury-laden season to help solidify the bullpen.

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There are still a few question marks on this team. The biggest one is figuring out how the rotation will shake out in 2019. There are two spots available with at least four guys (Framber Valdez, Josh James, Brad Peacock, and Forrest Whitley) in-house to fill the spot. Though, finding a starter externally may be the team’s final addition this offseason.

On top of that, Alex Bregman will be looking to build off a season that saw him finish in the top five of MVP voting. He, along with the rest of the Houston Astros (many) star players will pilot a very successful 2019 campaign.

The Houston Astros have won 204 games the past two seasons, which is 63% of their games. Currently, RotoChamp has the Astros projected to win 98 games in 2019. Which, is a step down from what they did in both 2017 and 2018, however, this is the highest projected win total in the entire MLB.

The Astros haven’t made many if any, splashy moves. They likely won’t be making one this offseason, either. However, this does not mean the team is in bad shape for 2019. In fact, the team is in great shape and ready to contend in 2019, even with how the roster is currently constructed.

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The Houston Astros have made four decently sized moves this offseason. Other teams have and will make bigger moves this offseason. The Astros may have another minor move or two in them but even if they don’t, the team is ready to rock and roll in 2019.

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