Here are the 3 most important Houston Astros lessons learned so far in 2023

HARD LESSONS

The Houston Astros received a lot of positive feedback in the offseason for their free agent acquisition of first baseman Jose Abreu. Many fans were disappointed to see Yuli Gurriel leave, but understood there was an opportunity to add some pop in the lineup by signing Abreu.

Houston also re-signed reliever Rafael Montero and outfielder Michael Brantley to bolster the roster. What do all these things have in common? All three of these moves occurred while the Astros were without a general manager after James Click was relieved of his duties.

So it's no surprise that many are lumping all these signings together because at this point in the season, none of these decisions have worked out. Abreu still isn't hitting and continues to be slotted in the cleanup spot by manager Dusty Baker. Montero has an ERA over six, and Michael Brantley is still dealing with a shoulder issue and hasn't played for the Astros.

Even at the time of these signings, many people did not feel like these were typical Astros moves. So is it fair to be critical of Astros ownership for these deals not working out? Or is it unfair to point the finger at the Astros when most fans and media loved the Abreu and Brantley signings when they took place?

Don't miss the video above as we address these tough questions.

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Listen to The Bench with John Granato and Lance Zierlein weekday mornings on ESPN 97.5 and 92.5.

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This is getting ugly. Composite Getty Image.

It's no secret, the big topic of conversation from the Winter Meetings is the Houston Astros and what the future holds for several of their star players.

Fans are starting to voice some concern about what the team could look like should they let Alex Bregman walk, and trade away Kyle Tucker and/or Framber Valdez.

Houston's social media team recently posted a video about the Astros young guns, and let's just say it didn't go over well in the comments. And the timing of this post is quite curious to say the least.

Which begs this question. Are the Astros doing what's necessary by moving on from players they don't believe they can re-sign, or are they on the verge of some big mistakes?

Don't miss the video above as ESPN Houston's John Granato and Lance Zierlein weigh in.

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