How new Houston Astros GM Randy Flores views roster, trades and offseason

LAS VEGAS – Since his introduction as Houston Astros general manager last week, Randy Flores has made clear that his first priority is hiring a manager, followed by filling out the major-league coaching staff.

As such, Flores indicated Tuesday at the general managers’ meetings – just eight days removed from his arrival – that the Astros’ internal discussions about how to address their roster this winter are still preliminary. 

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“I think the in-depth nature of that is going to happen after we have the manager – also in coordination with our manager,” Flores said. “We have laid some of the groundwork of … where might we go.”

Flores inherited a roster that presents numerous questions after an 81-81 finish in 2026. There’s also the possible interruption to offseason business – for all 30 major-league teams – if the sport enters a lockout when the collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1. Teams are not permitted to make transactions involving players on 40-man rosters in a lockout.

That looming date combined with their ongoing manager search raises the question of how much roster maneuvering the Astros may be able to undertake before a shutdown. They are taking some initial steps on that front – Flores said their contingent in Las Vegas was slated to meet with seven agent groups Tuesday and scheduling meetings with executives from other clubs.

“My hope is to get back to Houston at the end of this week and hopefully finalize our manager decision,” Flores said, “and then spend the next week really in bunker-down mode on filling out our major-league staff and the order of operations in tackling our team and roster construction.”

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Though still on the first step of that sequence, Flores was asked about and commented on several areas of his new roster during his media availability Tuesday at the Aria resort in Las Vegas:

The infield and Jeremy Peña

Houston has a high-priced infield surplus with Carlos Correa expected to return from ankle surgery next season. It leaves three everyday players – Correa, Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker – for two corner spots with Jeremy Peña and Jose Altuve up the middle.

“The math’s the math on that and that’s something we have to really take a hard look at,” Flores said.

Peña, the All-Star shortstop, is entering his final season under club control. Two winters ago, the Astros traded star right fielder Kyle Tucker to the Cubs in the same situation, netting a return of Paredes, Cam Smith and Hayden Wesneski. The Astros under owner Jim Crane have eschewed the kind of long-term deal that extending Peña may require, raising the question of whether they could explore trading Peña this offseason.

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Flores is still establishing communication with Astros players. He said he reached out via text to each member of the 40-man roster and has so far met one of those players in person – Correa, who was at Daikin Park the day of Flores’ introductory press conference. Flores offered a general response when asked about Peña on Tuesday.

“He’s a great player, he’s a great part of this team,” Flores said. “I look forward to meeting him, I look forward to talking with him and I look forward to charting out a path to making this team, the Astros, as good as possible.”

If the Astros were to trade Peña this winter, it would require backfilling shortstop. Correa played there his entire career before moving to third base when the Astros reacquired him from Minnesota at the 2025 trade deadline, at which point Correa said he had favored a move to third for years for longevity.

Whether shifting Correa back to shortstop full-time is an option is unclear, especially with Correa coming off ankle tendon surgery. In September, Correa said he would be willing to play “wherever they need me.” Asked if Correa could return to shortstop, Flores deferred, saying he will need to discuss that with Correa.

The possibility of trades

Peña, Paredes and Walker are all entering their final years of team control – Peña in his last year of salary arbitration eligibility, Paredes on a $13.35 million club option the Astros exercised and Walker in the final year of his three-year, $60 million contract.

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One question raised by a potential lockout is what kind of trade market will exist for players entering their final year of control. If cancelled games in 2027 is a possibility, will teams be less willing to part with assets for such players, not knowing if they’ll get a full season with them in return?

“It’s that unknown that we’re all trying to make good decisions with,” Flores said, when asked generally about that topic. “I don’t want to speculate on how another team will handle a scenario when we don’t know if that scenario is actually going to play out. I can only say I’ll do the best I can (to operate) as we are just going about our business and then adjust and adapt as necessary.”

During the 2021-22 offseason, the final days before a 99-day lockout saw a flurry of free-agent signings around the league. Flores said he has asked Astros staff to look at how active teams were on the trade front during that period. But he said that does not necessarily mean the Astros view trades as the area where they could be more active.

“What I would just say is we’ve got to be open to all of those options and the pace at which we do it – whether or not we’re in it – the work has to go in,” Flores said.

The bullpen

Bryan Abreu, Steven Okert and Enyel De Los Santos are all free agents this offseason. Abreu and Okert were the Astros’ top setup men last season, while De Los Santos tied with Abreu for the second-most relief outings on the club behind Okert. Potentially losing all three creates an obvious question of how Houston will bridge games to closer Josh Hader next season.

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“I know that we’ve had some discussion internally about those options,” Flores said. “I think you always want to hope to be able to backfill internally. But certainly, that (relief pitching) is a fluid market that goes all the way to the end, and so whether it happens now internally or right up against spring training is something that remains to be seen.”

AJ Blubaugh became a key part of Houston’s bullpen as a rookie in 2026, initially as a multi-inning arm before taking on higher-leverage situations later in the season. Miguel Ullola and Alimber Santa both impressed in short debut stints and could compete for roles in 2027. Abreu, Okert and De Los Santos represent a significant chunk of late-game experience potentially leaving, however.

Flores, a reliever for parts of eight seasons in the majors, indicated he doesn’t consider ample major-league experience a necessity in building a bullpen.

“I think it goes both ways. I was a part of a staff in 2006 that was almost all rookie arms,” Flores said, citing a Cardinals team that won the World Series. “But I’ve also seen staffs that are experienced and have the ability to weather some of the storms and ups and downs of the season.

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“I think you’re looking for some resilience, you’re looking for people who post, who are available. And whether that comes from first-year guys or people with experience, I’m agnostic on that.”

The outfield

Houston ranked 29th of 30 teams in outfield OPS during the 2026 season, starting 12 different players in left field and eight in center field. Unsurprisingly, Flores cited the outfield as an area the team will need to address in some capacity this winter.

“We need to look at some of our production out of our outfield,” Flores said, “and balancing that with our current roster, the options that are out there in free agency and trades, looking to see how we can make this team better.”

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Center field looks wide open, with trade deadline addition Daulton Varsho a free agent and Jake Meyers electing free agency after the Astros outrighted him off the 40-man roster. Left field was such a revolving door in 2026 that no player started more than 36 games there for Houston.

How often Yordan Alvarez plays left field in 2027 may be a topic for the Astros to weigh this winter. Flores did not go into it Tuesday but did say Alvarez, the favorite for the AL MVP award that will be announced Thursday, was among the players who replied quickly when the new GM reached out.

“He was one of those who responded to my texts: ‘Yo Flo, let’s go! ‘” Flores said. “It was heartwarming to know someone of that caliber, when I reached out, immediately reaches back out, and I can’t wait to meet him.”

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This article originally published at How new Houston Astros GM Randy Flores views roster, trades and offseason.

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