Underwhelming Prediction for Houston Astros This Season Isn't Surprising

The 2025 MLB season is going to be the dawn of a new era for the Houston Astros in many ways.

Several players from their most recent World Series winning team in 2022 departed, creating sizable voids not only on the field, but in the clubhouse.

The amount of talent lost is a major reason why Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report believes the team is set to take a step back in 2025 compared to how they performed in 2024.

When the Astros accepted the harsh reality that they would not be able to afford to sign right fielder Kyle Tucker to a long-term deal, they decided to trade him to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for third baseman Isaac Paredes, pitcher Hayden Wesneski and star prospect Cam Smith.

It was a good thing the team acquired Paredes since he is stepping right into the starting third baseman’s role that was vacated by star Alex Bregman.

Bregman departed in free agency, signing a three-year, $120 million deal with the Boston Red Sox. His presence is going to be missed coming off a Gold Glove-winning year in which he remained a consistent producer at the plate and an important leader in the clubhouse.

Losing players of that caliber, on top of Ryan Pressly being traded to the Cubs and Justin Verlander and Yusei Kikuchi also leaving in free agency, makes it only natural for some regression to occur.

The front office did a good job of restocking the roster with some talent, signing first baseman Christian Walker to fill the void at that spot.

Paredes has a swing built for Daikin Park. Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve remain, along with catcher Yainer Diaz and shortstop Jeremy Pena. The pitching staff is anchored by ace Framber Valdez and emerging No. 2 Hunter Brown. Josh Hader still remains an elite closer.

Houston isn't void of talent, but it is going to take a complete team effort to replace everything that was lost this past winter.

On top of the roster changes, they are going to face challenges from their division rivals.

Regression in their win total could certainly occur because competition in the American League West is going to be much stiffer.

The Seattle Mariners have arguably the best starting rotation in baseball. If they can find a way to upgrade their offense, they are going to be an incredibly difficult team to handle.

2023 World Series champions, the Texas Rangers, look ready to contend again in 2025 after an underwhelming 2024. Their lineup is as deep as anyone’s in the sport, and their pitching staff has a high ceiling as long as they can stay healthy.

The Los Angeles Angels and Athletics may not be playoff contenders, but their made improvements to their rosters with some offseason spending. Both teams are much better heading into 2025 than they were heading into 2024.

Some projections are still favorable for the Astros, but they are going to have some serious obstacles to overcome.

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