Houston’s offseason plan centers on preserving core stability while addressing two free-agent questions. Framber Valdez and Victor Caratini are the only consequential free agents from the current roster, with Valdez anchoring the rotation and Caratini handling catching. The rest of the star core—Altuve, Alvarez, Peña, and Brown among others—remains under team control for the near term, creating room to balance extensions, arbitration, and payroll without a full rebuild.

Beyond Valdez and Caratini, the horizon features a mix of arbitration-eligible depth and aging or longer-term contracts. Key decisions will revolve around how aggressively Houston retains or replaces pieces like Abreu, Dubón, Urías, and McCullers, while mapping out long-term commitments for a championship window that runs through the late 2020s and into 2030s via extensions and option structure.

Brown navigates a 2026 contract question while signaling continued leadership of the Astros after a season derailed by injuries. Houston finished 87-75 and missed the postseason, prompting a broad ops review and a focus on offense at the deadline with Correa, Jesús Sánchez and Ramón Urías. Espada remains under contract for 2026 as Crane weighs continuity with internal improvements.

Injuries crippled the rotation (Blanco, Wesneski, Arrighetti, Garcia) and late-season slide underscored offensive gaps (24th in runs, 23rd in OPS). The front office is balancing internal returns with depth additions as they chart a path toward a healthier, more complete 2026 roster.