End Of An Era?

By Mike Rifkin

On Monday night, the Texas Rangers defeated the Houston Astros 11-4 in Game seven of the ALCS. The Astros had been the AL Champs the last two seasons and have been in the ALCS every year since 2017. During this span, the Astros have been to four World Series, winning two. The last time we saw such a run of dominance in Baseball was in the 1990s when the Braves and Yankees coasted their way to the playoffs. The Yankees are the last team to repeat as World Series Champions (1998-2000). This Astros run over the last six years has done several things, including cementing the legacies of Dusty Baker and Justin Verlander. It could also be why Jose Altuve gets a plaque in Cooperstown one day. 

On Thursday, Manager Dusty Baker announced his retirement from managing. Baker, who took over after the 2017 sign-stealing scandal was revealed. All Baker did was restore the franchise from the off-field distraction to have them win three consecutive AL West titles and appear in three consecutive World Series. Baker ranks seventh all-time in wins, and the only thing that was missing on his resume was a World Series Championship, which he was able to obtain last season. My guess on who replaces Dusty would be his bench coach, Joe Espada, who has been the Bench coach since 2018. Espada has interviewed for several managerial openings but has yet to get the job. Now, if the Astros are looking for someone with experience, someone like Buck Showalter or Joe Maddon intrigues them. I lean toward Espada and would give him an experienced bench coach. 

2024 is the final year on the contracts of Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman, who are in the top ten in several categories, including WAR, runs scored, Home Runs, Doubles, total bases, and RBIs. Altuve has a regular season MVP, three Batting Titles, a Gold Glove, and a Silver Slugger on his mantle. Both guys have been significant factors in the Astros World Series championships. Altuve, 33, and Bregman, 29, are both represented by Scott Boras, and it will be interesting to see how the Astros handle both as both will also have their 34th and 30th birthdays during the season, which might be a factor in the negotiations. 2024 is also the final year of the contract for Justin Verlander, although there is a vesting option for 2025. The future Hall of Famer is at 257 wins, so depending on how many he gets next season, he’d come back and try for 300, and he could be the last guy to ever achieve that number even at 40 years old, he still was solid for the Astros after being re-acquired from the Mets. 

While those guys deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Astro icons Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Lance Berkman, etc… and will be honored like those guys. There are guys for the future as well. Yordan Alvarez, who signed a six-year 115 million dollar contract ( which right now looks like a robbery for the organization), is a guy who has hit 30-plus homers each of the last three seasons and is just 26 years old. Kyle Tucker, who struggled during the playoffs, is one of the most underrated players in Baseball. He drove over 100 runs for the second consecutive season and the third straight season of at least 90 RBI. He was also one homer away from his third straight 30-home-run season. But unlike Alvarez, Tucker is not signed long term yet and is arbitration eligible through 2025, as is stud pitcher Framber Valdez. The Astros pitching staff could be getting significant boosts next season with the returns of Lance McCullers Jr and Luis Garica, both of whom missed this season with injuries. Now, even if they don’t win spots in the rotation, they could help fill out the bullpen. 

After the trade deadline, MLB Pipeline has the Astros as the worst-ranked farm system in the sport with zero top 100 prospects. So here’s the question for Astros GM Dana Brown? How do I build for the future and keep this team as competitive as possible? Last Winter, they made a big-time move for first baseman Jose Abreu, who struggled most of the year but came alive in September and into the playoffs. So what they do this Winter might be something worth watching.

The Astros should remain competitive because it is in their DNA. But if they decide to head in the other direction based on the age of certain players, this run was very historic, and whether you like them or not, you have to respect them because we have not seen this kind of dominance in a long time, but is it the end of an era in Houston.