RSS Astros Team Notes

[Houston Astros]

Poll: Which Team Had The Best Offseason?

The offseason has more or less come to a close at this point. While a handful of players remain available in free agency and there’s always a chance of a surprise trade or two throughout Spring Training, the vast majority of the heavy lifting has been done. As Spring Training begins, it’s worth checking in on what teams around the league did this winter to see which club had the strongest offseason. A look at a few of the candidates:

Baltimore Orioles

After a disastrous 2025 season that saw the club fall to the basement of the American League, the Orioles have been very busy in their efforts to turn things around. A rotation that struggled to stay above water last year saw the return of Zach Eflin as well as the additions of both Shane Baz and Chris Bassitt. Those additions may not have included the front-of-the-rotation ace the Orioles were widely expected to pursue, but the club was aggressive elsewhere on the roster. Ryan Helsley was brought in to close while Felix Bautista is injured, and the club swung a deal for Taylor Ward to help round out their outfield. By far the biggest addition of the winter, however, was slugger Pete Alonso, who signed a five-year, $155MM contract. Alonso adds a legitimate 40-homer threat to the middle of a lineup that struggled to generate much offense outside of Gunnar Henderson last year and was heavily slanted toward lefty hitters.

Chicago Cubs

It’s rare that a team would be in this conversation after losing the offseason’s top-ranked free agent, but there’s a lot to like about the 2026 Cubs even after bidding farewell to Kyle Tucker. Alex Bregman, signed to a five-year, $175MM deal, can’t be expected to be the same offensive force as peak-level Tucker, but he makes up for that by helping to complete what’s arguably become the best defensive infield in baseball alongside Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner, and Michael Busch. The move pushes Matt Shaw into a utility role, where he can serve as protection against injury for the club while also potentially sharing time with fellow youngster Moises Ballesteros at DH. The addition of Bregman was complemented by the decision to swing a trade for high-upside righty Edward Cabrera in the rotation. That likely pushes swingman Colin Rea back into a bullpen that’s been rebuilt with Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey, and Hoby Milner after losing Brad Keller, Andrew Kittredge, and Drew Pomeranz back in November.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers’ offseason hasn’t been an exceptionally busy one, but the few moves they wound up making could prove to be the most impactful of any team this winter. They kicked off their offseason by poaching star closer Edwin Diaz away from the Mets, but their biggest splash was the addition of Tucker to their outfield. Diaz and Tucker are both All-Stars with among the highest ceilings in the game at their respective positions. Adding both to an already star-studded roster, the Dodgers managed to address the 2025 team’s biggest weaknesses: a lackluster outfield and a leaky bullpen. They also extended Max Muncy on an affordable one-year deal and reunited with Kiké Hernandez and Evan Phillips. After back-to-back World Series championships, the Dodgers look even better headed into 2026 despite their relatively low volume of transactions.

New York Mets

While the Dodgers mostly kept their 2025 team intact for 2026 with just a few additions, the Mets went in the opposite direction with a complete roster overhaul. Out went Alonso, Diaz, Brandon Nimmo, and Jeff McNeil. Replacing them is a host of talent ranging from new staff ace Freddy Peralta to relievers Devin Williams and Luke Weaver on the pitching side, and a cluster of position players headlined by star infielder Bo Bichette. In addition to Bichette, who’ll move to third base alongside shortstop Francisco Lindor, the team brought in Marcus Semien to handle the keystone, Jorge Polanco to cover first base, and Luis Robert Jr. to work in center field. It’s a busy offseason that completely changed the look of the team that failed to make the playoffs last year, though it remains to be seen if this team will better support Lindor and Juan Soto in their pursuit of a World Series championship.

Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays finished just shy of a World Series championship last year, and this winter they acted like a team that wanted to leave no stone unturned in their efforts to close the gap. A new-look rotation added Dylan Cease at the front and Cody Ponce at the back. A lineup that lost Bichette in free agency looked to make up for it by bringing in Kazuma Okamoto and Jesus Sanchez. Meanwhile, the team’s shaky bullpen upgraded from hard-throwing righty Seranthony Dominguez by bringing in ever-reliable soft-tosser Tyler Rogers. Missing out on both Bichette and Tucker takes some of the punch out of Toronto’s offseason, but adding Cease to a rotation that already includes Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, and Trey Yesavage should make the Jays significantly more threatening than they already were last year.

Other Options

Plenty of teams had offseasons worthy of praise aside from the five listed above. The Tigers managed to snag arguably the top pitcher available in lefty Framber Valdez on a short-term deal while also reuniting with future Hall of Famer and Detroit legend Justin Verlander, though failing to upgrade the lineup is surely disappointing for fans hoping to see the team make the most of Tarik Skubal’s likely last year in town.

The Red Sox were very busy this winter as they brought in Sonny Gray, Johan Oviedo, Willson Contreras, and Caleb Durbin via the trade market while signing Ranger Suarez and Isiah Kiner-Falefa in free agency, but the team’s failure to reunite with Bregman casts a shadow over their busy winter.

The Astros got the rotation depth they coveted, signing NPB star Tatsuya Imai to a three-year deal with multiple opt-outs and acquiring righty Mike Burrows in a three-team trade that sent outfielder Jacob Melton to the Rays. They’re still too right-handed and have a glut of infielders that could still lead to one more big spring trade.

The Pirates were very active by their usual standards, overhauling the lineup to bring in Ryan O’Hearn, Marcell Ozuna, and Brandon Lowe among others. The Rangers came into the winter without much room to add but managed to come away with a solid bat (Nimmo) for the lineup and a big arm (MacKenzie Gore) for the rotation nonetheless. The Mariners kept Josh Naylor and added Brendan Donovan to the infield. The A’s added only complementary pieces (McNeil, Aaron Civale) in terms of external additions but deserve praise for their franchise-altering extensions of Tyler Soderstrom and Jacob Wilson.

On the flipside, the rebuilding Cardinals managed to shed significant portions of the Contreras, Gray and Nolan Arenado contracts and pulled in a nice return from the Mariners (and Rays) in the three-team Donovan trade.

What team do MLBTR’s readers think had the best offseason this winter? Have your say in the poll below:

Which team had the best offseason?​

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Mets
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/02/poll-which-team-had-the-best-offseason.html

 

[Houston Astros]

Astros Sign Cavan Biggio To Minor League Deal

The Astros have signed utility man Cavan Biggio to a minor league deal with an invite to big league Spring Training, per a team announcement.

Biggio, 31 in April, would be entering his eighth season as a big leaguer if he makes the Astros’ roster. A fifth-round pick by the Blue Jays in 2016, he turned in impressive performances for Toronto in his first two years with the club, slashing .240/.368/.430 with a wRC+ of 118 and 4.0 fWAR in 159 games between the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Entering the 2021 season, Biggio looked like a building block of the Blue Jays’ next core. He was the team’s everyday second baseman on paper, slotting in alongside fellow up-and-coming hitters Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (on the infield corners) and Bo Bichette (at shortstop).

Unfortunately, that hot start to Biggio’s career has since proved to be unsustainable. While Guerrero and Bichette both went on to find stardom with the Jays, Biggio fell into a utility role with the team. He hit just .219/.327/.351 (93 wRC+) throughout the remainder of his Jays career before being cut loose by the team in June of 2024. That left Biggio to spend the rest of the year bouncing between teams. He appeared in the majors with the Dodgers and Braves through the second half of the season before catching on with the Royals on a minor league deal last offseason. He’s hit just .184/.298/.286 (70 wRC+) with a 29.0% strikeout rate since leaving Toronto, including a lackluster 59 wRC+ in 37 games with Kansas City last year. He was designated for assignment shortly before the trade deadline and finished the 2025 campaign in the Angels’ minor league system, where he hit just .242/.375/.303 even in the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League.

Difficult as the past two seasons have been for Biggio, there’s still some reason to believe that he can rebound to be a valuable player in a part-time role. Biggio has a career 13.5% walk rate, and it’s never fallen below 10% for a single season. That offers a solid floor of on-base ability that can be difficult to find in bench players; after all, Biggio managed a .296 OBP with the Royals last year despite hitting well below the Mendoza line. He also offers impressive versatility, with lots of experience in all four corners as well as second base. That upside was clearly enough for the Astros to decide to roll the dice on Biggio as a potential bench contributor this year, bringing him into camp and offering him the opportunity to earn a spot on the roster.

Biggio’s odds of actually making the roster are hard to figure out. On the one hand, the Astros haven’t made their desire to get more left-handed a secret, and their recent trade of Jesus Sanchez to the Blue Jays removed one of their few experienced lefty bats from the lineup. On the other hand, Biggio has primarily played the infield throughout his career, and the Astros’ infield mix is already very crowded. Carlos Correa, Jeremy Pena, Jose Altuve, and Christian Walker all figure to play more or less every day around the diamond, which leaves Isaac Paredes (who is also an everyday-caliber player on merit) left to fight for at-bats as it is. Combine that surplus of infield talent with plenty of uncertainty at the infield corners, and Biggio’s best shot at making the roster could be as a part-time corner outfielder, competing with Joey Loperfido and Zach Cole in that role.

Of course, that could change in a hurry if the team’s reported trade talks involving Paredes come to fruition. If more room is created on the bench, Biggio could slot in nicely as a more offensively-oriented complement to Nick Allen on the club’s bench. Brice Matthews and Shay Whitcomb could also compete for bench spots on the infield, in the event that Paredes (or, perhaps, Walker) finds himself traded prior to Opening Day.

Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/02/astros-sign-cavan-biggio-to-minor-league-deal.html

 

[Houston Astros]

Josh Hader Still Uncertain For Astros’ Opening Day Roster

A bout of biceps inflammation in late January set Josh Hader back in his offseason prep, and has continued to limit the Astros closer during Spring Training. Hader’s throwing has been limited to games of catch, and Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters (including the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara) that Hader would continue on this route through the week.

Espada didn’t provide any clarity on when Hader might start to increase his throwing progression, or whether or not the left-hander might not be available for Opening Day. “I think we still have a little bit more time. Once we start getting down to that we’ll talk more on that, but right now it’s still premature just to see where we’re at by March 26,” Espada said.

Because Hader is a relief pitcher built for a limited workload, he naturally doesn’t require as much ramp-up as a starter. In each of the last three years, however, Hader has made at least six appearances in Spring Training games, and matching that number may be difficult given that we’re less than a month away from Houston’s first regular-season contest.

The biceps injury comes on the heels of a more serious injury setback for Hader, as a left capsule sprain prematurely ended his season last August. Surgery wasn’t required, and after completing a throwing program in November, Hader said that he expected to be ready for Spring Training. That might have well been the case, if it wasn’t for the biceps inflammation that again put Hader on the sidelines.

Bryan Abreu covered the majority of save chances when Hader was on the injured list last season, so Abreu would probably be Houston’s top choice as interim closer if Hader needs a 15-day IL stint to begin the 2026 campaign. While Abreu has more than proven himself capable of high-leverage work, obviously removing a star closer like Hader from the equation weakens the bullpen depth chart as a whole.

If Hader is absent, it will put more of a spotlight on the rest of the Astros’ relief corps, from both a quality and health perspective. To the latter point, Enyel De Los Santos has started throwing again and Espada said the right-hander should start working off the mound by next week.

De Los Santos picked up a right knee strain early in camp, but it appears as though the strain ended up being fairly minor. The missed time in camp may not have much impact on De Los Santos’ availability for Opening Day, as Espada said that since De Los Santos pitched in winter ball, the righty might be able to rebuild his arm strength in fairly short order.

De Los Santos signed with Houston last August and pitched pretty well down the stretch, posting a 4.03 ERA, 6.6% walk rate, and 26.4% strikeout rate over 22 1/3 innings in an Astros uniform. He avoided arbitration with the Astros by agreeing to a one-year, $1.6MM deal for the 2026 season, giving the 30-year-old a bit of stability after already playing for eight different teams over the course of his seven MLB seasons.

Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/02/josh-hader-still-uncertain-for-astros-opening-day-roster.html