For the first time in almost a decade, the Houston Astros are not in the American League playoff picture. Astros manager Joe Espada wants stars like Carlos Correa to have a hand in the team's offseason moves. However, those conversations will happen far sooner than the franchise wanted them to. Yordan Alvarez, Josh Hader, and Jose Altuve all played a role in the team's struggles.
For most teams in Major League Baseball, an 87-75 record is nothing to complain about. However, Houston's run of dominance has lasted for years and raised the team's standards for what qualifies as a success. The Astros underperformed their potential this season and still barely missed the postseason. If not for a tiebreaker held by the Detroit Tigers, they would have been in.
Houston's 2025 season was far more dramatic than the team is used to. The Astros reunited with a former World Series champion when they traded for Correa at the trade deadline. A few weeks later, starting pitcher Framber Valdez intentionally crossed up his own catcher, leading to questions about his commitment to the team. Despite the distractions, Espada's effort never wavered.
Injuries played a big role in why Houston was far from the dominance it has built its reputation on. If they had been healthy, there is no telling just how good the Astros could have been. Unfortunately, Espada had to deal with constant changes around his roster as he tried to string wins together. The result is what you could expect, inconsistency in the field and at the plate.
Houston has some big decisions to make with its free agents this winter. However, the Astros cannot help but think about everything that went wrong. Here are the main culprits behind Houston's struggles down the stretch of the regular season.
Injuries to Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes crippled the Astros' offense
Isaac Paredes was part of the deal that sent Kyle Tucker from Houston to the Chicago Cubs this offseason. When healthy, the veteran was one of the best offensive infielders the league had to offer this season. Unfortunately, he appeared in just 102 games for the Astros in 2025. Espada had a huge hole at third base that handicapped the Astros' offense for the majority of the season.
While being without Paredes was inconvenient, not having Alvarez proved fatal. The veteran DH is one of the best pure hitters in the league. He has built a career on all-around hitting that rivals players like Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani when he is on his game. However, Alvarez suffered multiple injuries over the course of the year that prevented him from getting into a rhythm.
Without two of their offensive leaders, Espada had to get creative with his offense. Luckily for him, Jeremy Peña emerged as the Astros' next blossoming star. He also struggled to stay on the field in the heart of the season, leaving Houston in a rough spot as they fought for the top spot in the American League West. In the end, the Astros fell short of a postseason berth.
Astros' offense could not keep up with other teams on the scoreboard
Altuve started the season in left field defensively because of injuries and a lack of depth. He stumbled out of the gate and never got back on track. For a player used to leading Houston's offense alongside Alvarez and other stars, 2025 is a season to forget. His offense is a good example of everything that has gone wrong with the Astros. When he has issues, Houston's offense is doomed.
As a team, the Astros' offensive stats have them right in the middle of the league. However, they were a bottom 10 team in total runs with just 686 across 162 games; 4.2 runs per game is not enough for a team to contend with the league's best teams. While some of the shortcomings are because of injuries, the entire team has to accept the fact that they were simply not good enough.
Correa told fans to keep their faith in his team after a rough season. While better health could vault the team to the top of the league standings in 2026, there are not a lot of reasons to be optimistic. Despite that, Houston believes that it is still close to where it needs to be. If things break right, a deep playoff run is absolutely on the table for a veteran-laden roster.
Espada's bullpen let him down at the worst time
As a team, the Astros' pitching staff was not terrible considering the injuries that held the starting rotation back. However, Hader's injury marked a significant dropoff for Houston's morale and effectiveness on the mound in late-inning situations. He was one of the most dominant closers in MLB before he went out. After he left, though, things quickly fell apart for Espada.
Hader planned to come back during his team's playoff run. However, the Astros fell short of making it in largely because they could not get out of tight games with enough wins. Houston's general manager, Dana Brown, has not spoken much about the team's future. However, one thing on his list should be bullpen upgrades to help Hader when he returns next season.
Every season, there is usually one or two MLB teams that underperform expectations. However, the 2025 Astros are a team that had everything they needed. Despite the talent on the roster, things out of the franchise's control derailed the season. Espada did everything he could to get into the postseason, but injuries and a lackluster offense leaves him on the outside looking in.
