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HOUSTON -- For the first time since 2016, the Astros didn’t play deep into October. Houston’s run of seven consecutive trips to the American League Championship Series ended with a sweep at the hands of the Tigers in the AL Wild Card Series, setting up what should be an interesting offseason in terms of the immediate future of the club.

The Astros should be poised to contend for another AL West title in 2025 because of their starting pitching depth and they will return core position players Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Yainer Diaz, Jeremy Peña and Mauricio Dubón. But with franchise cornerstone Alex Bregman hitting free agency, the Astros have more roster questions to answer than in years past.

Here’s five questions facing the Astros this offseason:

1. Will they re-sign Bregman?
Bregman hits the free agent market as one of the best players available. He would like to remain in Houston, but figures to have multiple teams after him following a season in which he slashed .260/.315/.453 with 26 homers and 75 RBIs and played a Gold Glove-caliber third base.

Bregman will be seeking more than the six-year, $151 million extension the Giants gave third baseman Matt Chapman in August, which means the Astros would have to give him the largest contract in club history to retain him. Altuve said last week that he hoped Bregman would retire in Houston, and his words carry weight.

2. Who’s on first?
The Astros went into 2024 hoping José Abreu would carry his strong finish in 2023 into a rebound season, but it didn’t happen. They released the 37-year-old in June in the second year of a three-year, $58.5 million deal after he posted a .362 OPS in 35 games. Jon Singleton got most of the starts at first and posted a respectable 103 OPS+, with catchers Diaz and Victor Caratini also getting some playing time at first.

The club finished tied for 26th among 30 teams with a .651 OPS at first base this past season, meaning it will be on the hunt to upgrade the position offensively. Among the free agents who will be available are Paul Goldschmidt, Pete Alonso, Josh Bell, Rowdy Tellez, Christian Walker, Ryan O'Hearn and Carlos Santana.

3. What to do in center field?
Jake Meyers played in a career-high 148 games in 2024, including 126 starts in center field, and posted a .646 OPS, with Houston finishing 26th in the league in OPS (.634) at the position. Meyers and Chas McCormick, who had a woeful offensive season, could be non-tender candidates, but Houston is likely to keep at least one (or both) while looking for another player to help cover the position next year.

4. Which starting pitchers will be healthy to start 2025?
The Astros finished the season with Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, Yusei Kikuchi, Ronel Blanco and Spencer Arrighetti in the rotation. Valdez, Brown, Blanco and Arrighetti will be back, which is a solid top four heading into ‘25. Luis Garcia (Tommy John surgery) and perhaps Lance McCullers Jr. (right forearm surgery), could be back by Opening Day, and Cristian Javier and José Urquidy, both of whom had Tommy John surgery in June, are set to return in the summer. There could be room for another veteran arm to help cover innings.

5. Should they re-sign Kikuchi or Verlander?
Kikuchi excelled with the Astros after coming over in a trade with the Blue Jays, going 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 60 innings in 10 starts after Houston altered his pitch usage. The Astros will likely entertain re-signing the lefty, who is 33 years old and fits in well in Houston.

Verlander spent most of the season on the IL and didn’t pitch well to finish the regular season (8.10 ERA in final 33 1/3 innings), raising questions about his future heading into his age-42 season. Verlander said after the season he has a lot more to give pitching-wise, but a third stint in Houston seems unlikely based on the Astros’ returning pitching depth.