FREE AGENCY FOMO?
How Houston Astros latest roster move wildly contrasts conventional thinking
Dec 20, 2022, 1:14 pm
Uncle Mike is back! Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.
Why am I hearing from Astros fans that the team hasn’t done enough to get better during this offseason?
You mean the team that just won the World Series? That’s made four of the last six World Series? That won their division by 16 games in 2022 and dropped only two games in the postseason? That has become the model for sports franchises in America?
Sure, the Astros haven’t spent dumb money, a 13-year contract for a 28-year-old shortstop, $86 million over two seasons for a 40-year-old pitcher who’s now tied as the highest-paid player in baseball history, or $185 million on an injury-prone, 16-game winning pitcher … that’s 16 games over the last three seasons combined.
Instead the Astros simply went out and made, not the richest, but the most important free agent signing, and I’m not even talking about Jose Abreau, the best first baseman available to fill a hole in the Astros batting order.
Michael Brantley will be back with the Astros next season.
Sometimes you don’t measure a player’s importance by statistics and salary. Otherwise the Dodgers and Yankees would be dripping in World Series rings. They’re not. Over the past two decades, they have one title each. The Astros have two.
Brantley is the piece that completes the Astros. It’s terrific that he’s been a .300 batter and clutch hitter over his four seasons in Houston. More important, he is everything that’s good and admirable about the team – a talented, productive player, strong leader and role model in the community.
Just like everybody else it seems in that Astros clubhouse.
That’s the confounding aura about the Astros. They are beloved in Houston, unparalleled recent excellence on the field and pillars of the community.
They are reviled everywhere else, lowdown dirty cheaters from 2017 who may or may not still be cheating. That last part surprised me, the “still” cheating. I talked with a prominent sports media figure from Philadelphia after the last World Series and he would not concede that the Astros won fair and square this time. He didn’t say the Astros were cheating. He was just asking questions. It was like watching the TV news.
It’s not certain where Brantley will play in the field or hit in the batting order. It doesn’t matter. He is a steady, respected presence on a veteran team whose players are mostly in the 20s, and their 5-man (or 6-man) pitching rotation all are under 30. He really could be some of the Astros’ Uncle Mike.
Brantley is coming off a serious injury, his success on the diamond may be a question mark, but we know this for sure, the Astros are better with Brantley on the team.
And the last thing 29 other teams need is the Astros to be better in 2023.
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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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