Astrosworld

The Houston Astros still have Yordan Alvarez. They have Jose Altuve. They have Hunter Brown (albeit an injured Hunter Brown). But so many big names from the team that won it all in 2022–Framber Valdez, Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, Justin Verlander–have moved on. The Astros had been successful in replacing free agent departures with homegrown talent. That might be over.

Altuve at second: Jose Altuve is 35 years old and can't get to routine grounders anymore. He's been declining defensively for two seasons, but this April it's hard to miss. Balls that should be outs get through, and when he does get to them, he's throwing off-balance, shot-putting to first rather than setting his feet. A year ago the Astros tried turning Altuve into a left fielder to head off this issue. They’re committed to playing him back at second this season. It hasn’t been working.

The feel is gone: Beyond the box scores, there's something less measurable happening in Houston. This team won with an edge, a specific way of playing, of grinding, of never conceding an at-bat. That version of the Astros had an aura. They used to battle it out with the rival Yankees and usually get the best of them; the Yanks just won a series this weekend in Houston and the Astros were sleepwalking through most of it.

How the West was lost: At 11-18, Houston is in last place in the AL West. Last year the Mariners won it, but they’re also under .500 right now. The Athletics are leading the division at 15-13, and the Astros are just 4.5 games back. Nothing has been lost yet. But the dynasty that made the playoffs eight years in a row and made the World Series four times (winning twice) from 2017 through 2024 is looking like a dynasty in transition. In baseball that usually means decline. At some point we might be writing about how Houston was able to reload. But the scary version of the Astros is no more.