Spring training is officially underway for the Astros and the 2025 season is right around the corner. This has been one of the more tumultuous winters for a franchise that has remained remarkably stable over the last decade thanks to a talented farm system and good team management.
And while this offseason didn’t exactly blow things up, there will be a lot of new faces replacing older ones and some real intrigue for young players trying to make the roster.
So, we are going to take a look at some of the position battles going into camp. We already discussed the pitching rotation, the infield and the outfield. Let’s take a look at the large number of question marks in the bullpen.
Locks
Josh Hader
Bryan Abreu
Tayler Scott
Kaleb Ort
Almost Certain
Forrest Whitley
Bryan King
Question Marks and Youngsters
Bennett Sousa
Rafael Montero
Nick Hernandez
Luis Contreras
Hayden Wesneski
Colton Gordon
Ryan Gusto
Injuries and underperformance marked the Astros pitching all of 2024. That along with departures of recent fixtures on the mound has left them rather thin across the board, but particularly in the ‘pen where they only return two solid members of the rotation with a bunch of other guys who we aren’t sure will contribute.
Anchoring the crew is closer Hader and new setup man Abreu. Hader struggled early in the season but finished strong with 34 saves. Abreu had some ups and downs, but was still a stable force in the bullpen. He now takes over the setup role with Ryan Pressly traded in the offseason.
After Hader and Abreu, it is likely that Scott, who had a 2.23 ERA before ending the year on the IL, and Ort, who joined the team later in the season but performed well, will be the primary middle relief arms. Scott had a breakout year and Ort, a big, hard-throwing veteran, posted a 2.55 ERA in 24.2 innings with the Astros.
The next most likely locks are King, a veteran lefty who can serve as the team’s designated southpaw out of the bullpen, and the much anticipated debut of Whitley. After years of injury and struggles, Whitley appears finally ready to take a role on the big league club. It complicates matters that he is out of options, so they will either need to keep him on the roster or expose him to waivers. This is his chance to finally prove himself.
Beyond those six guys, there will be at least a couple of additional spots to fill in the ‘pen. Sousa, another lefty, has spent some time in the big leagues with varying degrees of success. If Montero could recapture even a little of the magic he had in 2023, it would go a long way to helping the team stabilize the bullpen, but don’t count on it.
Hernandez and Contreras are younger players who appear to be ready to make the jump to the majors as relievers, but they are untested. Wesneski will start the year as the team’s fifth starter, but any changes to the rotation could mean he moves into the bullpen where he has pitched before. Gordon and Gusto are both prized young players, but it remains to be seen if the team wants them in the bullpen at the major league level or starting in the minors.
