Technically, Joe Espada is still with the Houston Astros, but after finishing with just .500 in the 2026 season, that might not be the case when the 2027 season opens.
His situation is still not comparable to the decline that led the Houston Astros to get rid of Jose Abreu at the time, but Christian Walker has not been as consistent throughout his first two seasons with the team.
The Seattle Mariners' next manager could be a familiar face from the opposing dugout.
Can you name every MLB player to hit at least three home runs in multiple postseasons in eight minutes?
One team that will be fascinated to see how the offseason unfolds is the Houston Astros. They spent a large part of the 2026 season chasing their American League West Division foes, but when the dust settled, they were the ones who took control of the division over the last month-plus and held off the Texas Rangers with an 81-81 record to win it.
The 2026 MLB season was full of great performances, breakout stars, and incredible feats. These are the 25 things we learned along the way.
Houston Astros skipper Joe Espada is meeting with the Seattle Mariners about their open managerial position, MLB.com reported on Tuesday. Per MLB.com, the Astros are granting Espada permission to speak with the Mariners despite the 51-year-old being under contract with the club until the end of the month.
The Houston Astros have not shied away from trading a cornerstone player if they thought it might risk losing them in free agency. Two years after sending Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs, the team is now facing another remarkably similar situation with Jeremy Pena.
The Houston Astros may once again focus more on offense, as they have in recent years, and perhaps on the defensive shortcomings they still have heading into 2027.
The 2026 MLB season was historic in many ways. These 25 records were broken during the season.
The Houston Astros never moved far enough ahead to qualify for the Wild Card Series without the pressure of having the Texas Rangers (80-82) close behind them, as they finished one game back in the race to win the American League West Division.
The Houston Astros have a pretty long “to do” list during the offseason. Some of the things that may need checked off the list start at the very top and may not involve anyone on the field.
Many teams try to find a balance between position players and pitchers when they allocate their players for the Arizona Fall League. The Houston Astros did no such thing.
Stop me if you have heard this before: With the Houston Astros, help is needed in the outfield with a power-hitting bat, preferably a left-handed bat. That was an issue they had last offseason and there were plenty of names that were out there, including two from the Boston Red Sox, Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu.
The Houston Astros had high expectations for Tatsuya Imai after he signed a three-year, $54 million contract in January. However, the 28-year-old struggled to adjust to MLB hitting in his first full major league season.
It’s not often that a playoff team has a fan base that is irate. You typically don’t see a GM change during a playoff season either. Yet both are true with the 2026 Houston Astros.
Once a team comes up with its projected salary for all of its arbitration-eligible players, it will begin a tender analysis to simply determine: “Are we comfortable guaranteeing Player X this much money?” If the answer is yes, the player will be tendered a contract prior to the mid-November Tender Deadline.
Dynasties rarely announce when they are over. There is usually no clean ending, no obvious moment when a team goes from feared to vulnerable. The names are still familiar.
The Chicago White Sox took early leads and relied on their bullpen to complete a two-game sweep of the Houston Astros in the American League Wild Card series.
It took just two games for the Chicago White Sox to sweep the Houston Astros out of the American League Wild Card round and show that the AL West winners were never real postseason contenders.
The Astros announced Wednesday that outfielder Daulton Varsho underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left wrist. He’d been plagued by a pair of cysts in that wrist, which had become increasingly uncomfortable as the final stretch of the season inched toward its conclusion.
Game 2 between the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros should unfold significantly differently than Game 1.
Rookie Hagen Smith pitched three innings, allowing no runs on two hits with one strikeout in a 6-3 Chicago White Sox win at the Houston Astros in the first game of the wild-card series on Tuesday.
Game 1 of the White Sox's American League wild-card series at the Houston Astros is on Tuesday.
The Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros are both expected to use bullpen games in Game 1 of their American League Wild Card Series on Tuesday.
The two teams met up seven times in the regular season, with Houston winning five of the seven games.
Despite needing to leave to win a championship, Justin Verlander's eventual plaque inside the Baseball Hall of Fame will likely show him wearing the Detroit Tigers' logo on his cap.
Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez deserves to win the 2026 AL MVP.
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
Free Newsletters

