Would Nelson Cruz be a fit for the Astros? Abbie Parr/Getty Images
Now that baseball's winter meetings are over and most available free agents and trade targets are still out there, who would you most like to see join your favorite baseball team, Houston? What position group do you want Jeff Luhnow and his staff to target as the top priority? It doesn't look like Manny Machado or Brice Harper are going to be headed to H-town but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of good options that could help upgrade the roster and improve the team. The rumors have been flying about the Astros and names like Nelson Cruz and Michael Brantley in free agency and JT Realmuto and Jose Abreau via a trade. So I ask you, what player or players to you have on the top of your wish list? What position are you hoping they address first?
The choices are many and the possibilities endless, but if you had your choice, which direction to you want Jeff Luhnow and his staff to go first? Are there names you have in your cross hairs that you would give anything to see in the blue, orange and rainbow trim? I personally hope they utilize free agency to address a corner outfielder and a DH/1B type player and look for at least one starting pitcher via a trade. Obviously the price has to be right when you go out and sign players on the open market, but most players seem to want to play in Houston these days and have a chance to win a ring, so that can help find the right price to lure a few quality bats. As for a trade, there are a lot of big named, experienced and high quality, starting pitchers being dangled out there. Depending on how much of thier contract and how many years you are willing to absorb and how many decent prospects you are willing to include, you may be able to land one without giving up Forrest Whitley or Kyle Tucker.
The names at the top of my list for Houston in free agency are Brantley and Cruz. Brantley is a veteran, athletic outfielder who can fit right in defensively with his glove and arm, while adding left handed pop to any space in the lineup that A.J. Hinch decides to hit him in. He hit .309 last season with 17 HRs and 76 RBIs in 143 games and is a lifetime .295 hitter in 10 seasons with the Indians. Cruz has always seemed to be an Astros killer, whether he was with the Rangers, Orioles or Mariners. He hit 37 bombs and knocked in 97 while hitting .256 in Seattle last season and has hit at least 37 long balls and driven in at least 93 runs in each of the last five seasons. Brantley is 31 years old and in the prime of his career, while Cruz is 38 and still playing at a high level in the twilight of his career. Both have playoff experience and both would like to play with a contender that gives them a chance at winning a ring. If the price is right, both would be a great fit in Houston next year.
If you are hoping for a trade it really comes down to how many above average prospects you are willing to include? Are you throwing in a player or two off your major league roster? Are you willing to take on multiple years of big salary as part of the deal? If the answer to those questions are yes, then you may be able to get a big name that can step in and upgrade your team all while hanging on to the two biggest names in your farm system, Tucker and Whitley.
Both of those guys are said to be untouchable by Luhnow and a deal breaker with any team they may engage in trade talks with. They have been rumored to have had discussions with the White Sox centering around Jose Abreau, the Marlins in a package for catcher JT Realmuto as well as talks involving big named starting pithers like Zach Greinke and Madison Bumgarner.
I fully expect that these rumors and talks will intensify as we get closer to the end of the calendar year, with teams like Cleveland hoping to move Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer and the Mets considering relocating Noah Syndergaard or Jacob deGrom. I would love to see the 'Stros make a move for a front line starter that can help fill the void left by Charlie Morton and Dallas Kuechel moving on, as well as better prepare for the possibility that one if not both Justin Verlander and Gerritt Cole could be leaving via free agency after this season. I would take a close look at Greinke because Arizona is in fire sale mode and looking to unload big contracts. I would love to have Kluber but fear the asking price is astronomical. OK, enough from me, who would you like to see the team go get in free agency and via a trade?
It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!
*ChatGPT assisted.
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