Houston Astros Rumors: Predicting the Opening Day 25 man roster

Catcher: Robinson Chirinos

The Houston Astros went out and signed Chirinos this offseason as they watched Brian McCann return to the Atlanta Braves and Martin Maldonado turn down a two year $12 million deal to eventually sign a much smaller deal with the Royals. Chirinos will get the opening nod as catcher due to his bat and burgeoning rapport with the starting pitching staff.

First Base: Yuli Gurriel

A lot of people across the baseball world see first base as one of the few remaining weaknesses on this Astros team. This is probably because Yuli Gurriel isn’t a flashy player with gaudy stat lines. However, he has turned into a very solid defensive first baseman with a very clutch bat. The team could do much worse at first. Gurriel also offers plenty of positional versatility to boot.

Second Base: Jose Altuve

Of course, Jose Altuve will be locking down the second base position for the Houston Astros. He spent the majority of 2018 with a banged up knee that hobbled him down the stretch, ultimately to the point where he was a shell of himself in the playoffs. The team will be hoping to see a return to MVP form in 2019.

Shortstop: Carlos Correa

Carlos Correa had the worst year of his career in 2018. He spent a lot of injured with a bad back. This injury was particularly worrisome but he appears to be 100% and ready to go. He also had surgery to repair a deviated septum which has helped him get better rest which will be crucial. Correa could finally live up to his MVP potential this season.

Third Base: Alex Bregman

The final guy to round out a starting infield full of basically no surprises is Bregman. After having an abbreviated coming out party in the ALCS and World Series in 2017, he fully broke out in 2018. He’ll look to continue to play stellar defense and spectacular offensive en route to even more MVP votes.

Reserves: Tyler White, Aledmys Diaz, Max Stassi

While we haven’t zeroed in on a “starting” DH for the Houston Astros, Tyler White will likely get the first crack, though, the spot will likely be utilized primarily as a rest spot to rotate the key players through to get rest while still utilizing their bats.

Diaz is hoping to fill the Marwin Gonzalez role in 2019 covering almost all of the infield spots in addition to the outfield spots. He’s looked pretty good so far, time will tell how versatile he really is. Max Stassi will continue to work on his consistency while likely catching two out of every five starts or so.