There are as many ideas on how to fix the Astros as there are Astros fans who care to tackle the issue.
Everybody has an opinion, myself included.
It’s not something I spend a lot of time on, though, because there are so many unknowns for the layperson; therefore, I see it mostly as a waste of time and brainpower.
But here I am, for you to judge how much actual brainpower I wasted.
The fans who do attempt it generally fall into two categories: Those that believe the budget is, or should be, unlimited and want to sign every big name available, and those that think everyone a) wants to play in Houston and b) can be had at bargain basement prices, be the currency players, money, or some combination.
I like to think of myself as somewhere in the middle, but that could be me thinking less critically of myself than I should.
It’s the offseason, however, so I’ll spend a few minutes going through the roster and guessing at moves.
Catcher
Yainer Diaz enters his Arb 1 season and while some have advocated trading Diaz as he heads into his age-27 season, I would be inclined not to.
Diaz has the highest O-Swing% (43.3%) in MLB and can be extremely frustrating to watch at the plate, on top of being a mediocre to below-average defensive catcher.
As bad as he was offensively at times, especially early, Diaz finished with 20 home runs, 70 RBI and a 92 OPS+.
It was certainly a down season, but even with that on his record, Diaz is a 110 OPS+ career hitter who still has three years under club control.
It would also leave a 111 start hole at catcher.
Victor Caratini is a free agent entering his age-32 season who made just over $6,000,000 in 2025.
I would advocate for attempting to resign Caratini, though that may be price and playing time-prohibitive, as I can see another team offering more than the Astros can stomach, which may leave the backup job to Cesar Salazar, or an available experienced backup.
Neither Diaz nor Caratini is stellar defensively, with the only category in which Caratini is above average being Blocks Above Average, while Diaz was above average in Caught Stealing Above Average and Pop Time (barely).
1st Base
Christian Walker enters year two of his three-year deal, coming off a largely disappointing season.
Walker hit a career low .238, hitting 27 home runs and knocking in 88 runs while striking out 177 times, which was the most of his career.
Walker remained good defensively (79th percentile), some would say even better than his advanced stats show. For me, first base is a premium defensive position, though with the current iteration of the left side of the infield (Correa and Pena) that’s less of a worry.
Walker’s performance at the plate and $20,000,000 per year contract with two years remaining make trading him a difficult proposition, without the Astros paying some portion of that salary.
Spotrac reports a 6-team no-trade list annually, which makes it even more difficult.
This is a tough one, because if Isaac Paredes is healthy he needs to play somewhere (Paredes offensive numbers were lowkey good) and with Carlos Correa on the team, it’s unlikely to be third base.
A move of some type is likely, because the Astros have more infielders than positions.
Trading Paredes is certainly an option, but when healthy, he was an offensive leader (128 wRC+) for a team that desperately needs offense and one of the few who worked the pitch count to any degree.
I have more faith in Paredes offensively in 2026 than in a Walker rebirth at the plate.
2nd Base
Some combination of Jose Altuve, Ramon Urias and Mauricio Dubon.
Along with first base, there’s a glut here and Urias could be the odd man out, especially at an estimated $4,400,000 salary.
3rd Base
Mainly Correa, with Paredes on rest/DH days. Paredes’ advanced defensive stats are lower than I would have guessed (-3 OAA).
Shortstop
Jeremy Pena.
Left Field
A healthy Yordan Alvarez and Altuve should get the majority of time here, but it should be noted that Houston used 11 left fielders last season and there are other options.
Centerfield
Jake Meyers should be the main centerfielder as his defense is a run-saver and counterbalances his lack of slug. I’d like to see Zach Cole get an opportunity to platoon here on occasion, because he potentially offers a lot offensively that Jake doesn’t (left-handed bat with power).
Right Field
Cam Smith will likely enter the spring as the No. 1 right fielder and I’m OK with that, at least for now.
I’m a little tepid on Smith offensively, as he went a long stretch with little to no production at the plate to finish 2025, slashing .163/.261/.269 in 119 plate appearances over August and September.
I can see Cole getting a shot here, too and this could well end up being a platoon situation between these two.
In my mind, Jesus Sanchez is a non-tender candidate. He wasn’t good in the field or at the plate (69 OPS+ in 160 plate appearances) with the Astros and a projected $6,500,000 salary makes this an easy decision for me.
Some have posited his past makes Sanchez worth a gamble, at least as a backup, but he’s a mediocre (98 OPS+) career bat, with one (partial) season with an OPS+ higher than 104 and that’s five years in the past.
Sanchez is also a left-handed bat, which is in his favor and though he hit .251 vs. RHPs for the season between Miami and Houston, the Houston only portion of that is a slash of .191/.259/.336 in 143 plate appearances.
He was cheap in 2025, as the Marlins paid most of his $4,500,000 salary, but it isn’t easy to imagine the Astros paying him $6,500,000 for those results with other options (Cole, for example) available.
Utility
Dubon can play 7 positions and is very good defensively at most of them, but doesn’t hit, so the Astros need to at least think about keeping Urias.
The running joke with my son is that if Dubon gets 400 plate appearances, the Astros are in trouble, because that signifies either someone is hurt or the manager can’t quit Dubon.
When the Astros won the World Series in 2022, Dubon had 216 plate appearances. In the subsequent seasons, it has been 492, 428, 398.
There is a little truth in all jokes, they say.
Summary
So much depends on what the Astros decide to do at first base, and they have plenty of options, but it’s difficult to picture a world with both Walker and Paredes on the roster, as long as Carlos Correa is camped at third.
Paredes is not thought of as a major league second baseman, and he certainly doesn’t move like an outfielder.
Moving one of Walker or Paredes frees a spot for Urias to remain on the roster (depending on the return) and there’s value in that.
Paredes will presumably give you better offense at first, but it’s unlikely he will play as well defensively at the position, even as Walker enters his age-35 season.
Proposed Roster:
Diaz, Salazar, Paredes, Altuve, Urias, Pena, Correa, Dubon, Alvarez, Meyers, Smith, Cole, Dezenzo.
What did I miss and what moves would you make?
I’d love to hear additional thoughts or considerations I’ve missed.
Thanks for reading.