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As the Houston Astros are in the midst of spring training in preparation for the season around the corner, the team looks different compared to last year with the inclusions of new players and the subtraction of familiar faces. One of the Astros newcomers is Christian Walker as he spoke about the move to the team while also dealing with the departures of stars that have brought success for so long.
Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker were two main subtractions for Houston as they went to the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs respectively. Walker comes in from the Arizona Diamondbacks where he spoke on how “appealing” it was to choose the Astros as his next team and how he could be seen as “replacing” some of the departures according to The Athletic.
“The culture, the tradition, the history of winning, the success that this organization has, was very appealing to me,” Walker said.
“With the business of the game, people come and go,” Walker continued. “‘Replacing guys’ doesn’t feel like the right (phrase). But you can make some moves and some adjustments and move some guys around. Leadership, like (Jose) Altuve learning a new position for us — things like that are how you bridge the gap from losing a really good player.”
Jose Altuve on Astros finding a way to overcome subtractions
There is no doubt that Bregman leaving the Astros and going to the Red Sox seemed to be a foregone conclusion for a long time. One that was probably more impactful for someone like Jose Altuve, who had been long-time teammates with both Bregman and Tucker, as he spoke about overcoming the subtractions.
“Every player we have lost in the past, we’ve missed them. But somehow, we’ve found a way to keep going,” Altuve said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean we’re better with or without them. But with this team, the culture is to win. I think that is why we keep going forward, regardless of who we lose.”
The same sentiments were echoed by Houston manager Joe Espada who has to run a team filled with new faces like Walker and Isaac Paredes.
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“This team has been able to sustain those losses,” Espada said. “And it allows other people to step up and get us deep into the postseason.”
Astros' Jose Altuve happy for Alex Bregman
As Altuve mentioned about Bregman, he will for sure miss him, though at the same time, he's “happy for him” that he got the contract he wanted with Boston via The Houston Chronicle.
“We lost a big player, obviously,” Altuve said. “But we've got to focus on the guys that we have here. He's obviously one of the best that ever played in Houston. We're all going to remember him and we're going to miss him. But we're also happy for him. He signed a great deal, man – $40 million, not a lot of players can get to that, and he got it.”
“So I'm happy for him,” Altuve continued. “We've got to move on and focus on the players we have, keep moving. We have great talent here, great players. We're definitely going to do everything to win. And we'll see Alex down the road when we play Boston.
Houston looks to improve after an 88-73 record, which won them the AL West, but was eliminated in the wild-card round of the playoffs by the Detroit Tigers.
