It was a whirlwind of an offseason for the Astros after they won the World Series in November.
There was just enough time to catch their breath, make a few roster moves and add general manager Dana Brown to the mix. And now the 2023 season is upon them, along with all of the expectations of repeating as World Champions.
“Short. It was real short actually,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said of the offseason. “It didn’t give you a whole lot of time to get away from baseball, but hopefully enough. When you don’t know until later. When you go to the playoffs and the World Series three years in a row you kind of test your mental and physical strength.
“That’s what amazes me when I see guys like LeBron James that are 15 years of going to the playoffs and not having much of an offseason. Which one is better; to not be off very long and get out of shape or to have that time off. I’d just as soon not have the time off and win.”
And win is what most predict Baker and the Astros will do this season.
The Astros, who opened the season against the Chicago White Sox at Minute Maid Park on Thursday night, bring back last year’s team with one big loss and a major addition.
The team allowed ace Justin Verlander to exit in free agency, believing that the depth displayed during the playoff run will be enough this season. The Astros rotation now will be Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Jose Urquidy, Luis Garcia and top prospect Hunter Brown.
In the meantime, the Astros have added slugger Jose Abreu, who should help improve the offense. He joins an already strong lineup of Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, Jordan Alvarez, Michael Brantley and Jose Altuve.
The bullpen will again be a strength of the team with staples Ryan Pressly, Rafael Montero, Bryan Abreu, Hector Neris and Ryne Stanek all back.
The biggest concern for the Astros will be health. They enter the season with Altuve, the eight-time All-Star second baseman, out for six weeks with a broken thumb suffered on a wild pitch during the World Baseball Classic. Lance McCullers, an All-Star caliber pitcher, is out indefinitely but could be huge to the depth of the rotation when he is able to return.
Alvarez (left hand), Brantley (right shoulder) and Tucker (right ankle) all also came out of spring training with injuries.
But once healthy, the Astros seem best positioned to continue their dominance.
