The Astros missed the postseason for the first time in a decade, and now they’ll enter the offseason in the unfamiliar position of underdogs in the AL West.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Carlos Correa, 3B: $92MM through 2028 (deal includes four vesting club options for 2029-32; Twins covering $10MM annually for next three seasons as part of trade)
- Jose Altuve, 2B: $80MM through 2029
- Yordan Alvarez, DH: $78MM through 2028
- Josh Hader, LHP: $57MM through 2028
- Cristian Javier, RHP: $42MM through 2027
- Christian Walker, 1B: $40MM through 2027
- Lance McCullers Jr., RHP: $17MM through 2026
- Nate Pearson, RHP: $1.35MM through 2026 (arbitration eligible in 2027)
Option Decisions
- None
Total 2026 commitments: $155.85MM
Total future commitments: $407.35MM
Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; salary projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)
- Mauricio Dubon (5.162): $5.8MM
- Steven Okert (5.089): $2MM
- Luis Garcia (5.083): $2.2MM
- Ramon Urias (5.025): $4.4MM
- Bryan Abreu (5.022): $5.9MM
- Enyel De Los Santos (5.015): $2.1MM
- Chas McCormick (4.161): $3.4MM
- Isaac Paredes (4.160): $9.3MM
- Jesus Sanchez (4.118): $6.5MM
- Jake Meyers (4.044): $3.5MM
- Jeremy Pena (4.000): $7.9MM
- Hunter Brown (3.035): $5.7MM
- Yainer Diaz (3.035): $4.5MM
- Hayden Wesneski (2.170): $1.5MM
- Bennett Sousa (2.156): $1.1MM
- Taylor Trammell (2.144): $900K
Non-Tender Candidates: Dubon, Garcia, Urias, De Los Santos, McCormick, Sanchez, Trammell
Free Agents
The Astros finished the season with an 87-75 record and missed out on the final AL Wild Card spot after losing the season series tiebreaker to the Tigers. As far as seasons that don’t end in a postseason berth go, Houston’s year certainly could’ve been worse. Yet there’s plenty of work for GM Dana Brown and the rest of the front office to do this winter.
The elephant in the room is the impending departure of southpaw Framber Valdez. It’s a safe bet that he will be pitching elsewhere come Opening Day, as Houston has rarely made a full-scale effort to retain their free agents over the years. Alex Bregman walked in free agency last winter, and Kyle Tucker was traded before his final year under team control so that he wouldn’t do the same. Gerrit Cole previously left for New York after reaching free agency after the 2019 season. Justin Verlander and Carlos Correa both signed elsewhere on two separate occasions, though both did return to Houston in trades after their respective departures.
Jose Altuve is the only one of the club’s stars they’ve managed to keep in town consistently, and comments from Brown haven’t offered much reason to expect Valdez’s free agency to reverse that trend. Brown said that he expected to have “some conversations” with Valdez’s camp, but otherwise largely focused on the emergence of Hunter Brown as a legitimate ace and the club’s other internal options when asked about the possibility of a reunion. Valdez is sure to be well outside the club’s typical comfort zone even as he enters free agency marketing his age-32 season, and Brown has suggested that the club could look to the trade market in any efforts to bolster its rotation.
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