PLAY BALL!
Everything you wanted to know and more about the new-look 2021 Astros
Feb 18, 2021, 6:30 pm
Baseball is right around the corner. Composite photo by Jack Brame.
Beat the drum and hold the phone, the sun came out today. Baseball is back!
Pending COVID-19 tests and everything else that could possibly go wrong – and probably will – the “new-look" Houston Astros are scheduled to hold their first spring training workout today in West Palm Beach.
New-look indeed. Let's jump in the wayback machine all the way to Nov. 1, 2017, when Corey Seager grounded out Jose Altuve to Yuli Gurriel to wrap up the Astros' one and only World Series title. That was only 3-1/2 years ago, still so fresh in our minds. We still remember shortstop Carlos Correa popping the question to Miss Texas USA Daniella Rodriguez, and oh what a victory parade downtown, right? Seems like yesterday.
Yesterday, so long ago. The Astros have invited 72 players to spring training this year. Even in this era of free agency, opting out and multi-team trades, the Astros have turned their roster upside down and inside out. You can't tell the players … even with a scorecard.
There are 39 pitchers on the Astros spring training roster. Only two of them, Lance McCullers Jr. and Francis Martes were on the 2017 World Series team, and Martes is off limits on MLB's restricted list for performance enhancing substances.
This is a greater turnover than Three Brothers Bakery on South Braeswood.
Let's stick with the pitchers, we'll get to the hitters later.
The Astros won 101 games in wondrous, trashcan-banging 2017. McCullers won 7 games, Martes won 5, and Justin Verlander won 5. Verlander will miss most, possibly all, of 2021 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Who knows what's what with Martes? So in reality, McCullers will be the only pitching holdover from “that championship season" (great Broadway play, won the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best Drama).
That leaves 84 wins from 2017 gone from 2021's hopes and dreams. Fifteen different pitchers who won games for the Astros in 2017 are now plying their trade elsewhere, including: Charlie Morton, Dallas Keuchel, Collin McHugh, Chris Devenski, and Joe Musgrove. From the “Where Are They Now" file, Jordan Jankowski notched a W for the Astros in 2017. Whatever happened to that Mike Fiers fellow, anyway?
The starting lineup for the Astros in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series was: George Springer (CF), Alex Bregman (3B), Jose Altuve (2B), Carlos Correa (SS), Yuli Gurriel (1B), Brian McCann (C), Marwin Gonzalez (LF), and Josh Riddick (RF). Half of them are gone. The winning pitcher was Charlie Morton, gone. The two pinch hitters that night, Evan Gattis and Cameron Maybin, gone. Fifteen players saw action in Game 7 – two-thirds of them are former Astros just four seasons later. That's 10 players gone, I forgot that I promised there wouldn't be any math.
Manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow are no longer with us. I mean they're not with the Astros. They're still alive. The chastened and forgiven Hinch now manages the Detroit Tigers who will visit Minute Maid Park on April 12-13-14. Tickets available at mlb.com/astros.
The Astros were 48-33 at home games in Minute Maid Park and Tropicana Field in 2017. Did you forget that the Astros hosted the Rangers for three games in Florida because of flooding from Hurricane Harvey? Doesn't matter, none of the pitchers of record that series, Fiers (lost), Keuchel (lost) and Devenski (winner!), are still an Astro.
Eight catchers are in West Palm for Astros spring training. Nary a one found it necessary to report downtown for the World Series parade in 2017.
Thirteen outfielders are at spring training, none was with the title team. Heck, only four of them were with the Astros last season, including Yordan Alvarez who barely provided a physical presence (8 at bats).
You know, maybe this season, instead of numbers on the back of their jerseys, the Astros should wear “Hello, my name is _____" stickers.
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Nick Chubb didn’t expect to be a Houston Texan. At least, not until he got the call on a quiet Saturday at home and was on a flight the next day. It happened fast — too fast, even, for the four-time Pro Bowler to fully process what it all meant. But now that he’s here, it’s clear this wasn’t a random landing spot. This was a calculated leap, one Chubb had been quietly considering from afar.
The reasons he chose Houston speak volumes not only about where Chubb is in his own career, but where the Texans are as a franchise.
For one, Chubb saw what the rest of the league saw the last two seasons: a young team turning the corner. He admired the Texans from a distance — the culture shift under head coach DeMeco Ryans, the explosive rise of C.J. Stroud, and the physical tone set by players like Joe Mixon. That identity clicked with Chubb. He’d been a fan of Ryans for years, and once he got in the building, everything aligned.
“I came here and saw a bunch of guys who like to work and not talk,” Chubb said. “And I realized I'm a perfect fit.”
As for his health, Chubb isn’t running from the injuries that cost him parts of the past two seasons, he’s owning them. But now, he says, they’re behind him. After a full offseason of training the way he always has — hitting his speed and strength benchmarks — Chubb says he’s feeling the best he has in years. He’s quick to remind people that bouncing back from major injuries, especially the one he suffered in 2023, is rarely a one-year journey. It takes time. He’s given it time.
Then there’s his fit with Mixon. The two aren’t just stylistic complements, they go way back. Same recruiting class, same reputation for running hard, same respect for each other’s games. Chubb remembers dreading matchups against the Bengals in Cleveland, worrying Mixon would take over the game. Now, he sees the opportunity in pairing up. “It’ll be us kinda doing that back-to-back against other defenses,” he said.
He’s also well aware of what C.J. Stroud brings to the table. Chubb watched Stroud nearly dismantle Georgia in the College Football Playoff. Then he saw it again, up close, when Stroud lit up the Browns in the postseason. “He torched us again,” Chubb said. Now, he gets to run alongside him, not against him.
Stroud made a point to welcome Chubb, exchanging numbers and offering support. It may seem like a small thing, but it’s the kind of leadership that helped sell Chubb on the Texans as more than just a good football fit — it’s a good locker room fit, too.
It appears the decision to come to Houston wasn’t part of some master plan. But in retrospect, it makes perfect sense. Chubb is a player with a no-nonsense work ethic, recovering from adversity, looking to write the next chapter of a career that’s far from over. And the Texans? They’re a team on the rise, built around guys who want to do the same.
You can watch the full interview in the video below.
And for those wondering how Joe Mixon feels about Nick Chubb, check out this video from last season. Let's just say he's a fan.
I’ve seen some speculation indicating that Joe Mixon may not be happy the Texans signed Nick Chubb. If that is what you believe, watch this clip from an interview with @greenlight pod last year & get back to me. pic.twitter.com/3vaip85esj
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) June 11, 2025
*ChatGPT assisted.
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