This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart's Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

When your rotation and lineup are set and you have three dominant relief pitchers, getting through Spring Training without any injuries is perhaps the top priority. The Astros already have a couple of pitchers -- Justin Verlander and J.P. France -- who are dealing with shoulder inflammation, but neither injury appears to be serious at this point.

With that in mind, here are three key storylines to watch as Astros camp opens:

1. Will Verlander be ready to start the season?
Verlander experienced right shoulder inflammation before camp and reported a couple of weeks behind in his throwing program. Verlander, who turns 41 on Feb. 20, called it a “hiccup” and added it was too early to tell if it would impact his availability for Opening Day. He said he’s thrown off the mound three times so far this offseason.

“I’m a little bit behind schedule now,” Verlander said. “I had a little hiccup early on that’s resolved itself, but I have to be really cautious at how I’m building up. I guess my body doesn’t respond the same at 40 as it did at 25. I’m a couple of weeks behind.”

Verlander, who was traded back to the Astros from the Mets on Aug. 1, also experienced a delayed start last year with the Mets as he was placed on the injured list with a low-grade muscle strain on the right side of his body on the eve of the regular season. He debuted on May 4 and made 16 starts for New York before the Astros acquired him prior to the Trade Deadline.

“I’m not [concerned] just because the way he’s been in our conversations,” manager Joe Espada said. “He’s not giving me a reason to be concerned, but he’s behind. And I trust J.V.’s judgment, and our job is just to make sure that he’s ready to help us throughout the season.”

2. Can the Astros get an extension done with Alex Bregman?
After signing franchise icon Jose Altuve to a five-year, $125 million contract extension that will essentially make him an Astro for life, general manager Dana Brown said the club plans to make an offer to Bregman to keep him in Houston as well.

Bregman will be a free agent after this season, and Spring Training is typically a time when contract extensions get done because players don’t want to deal with negotiations in-season. Bregman’s agent, Scott Boras, said last week there is no timeline for a deal. Brown echoed those sentiments.

“We will, at some point, make him an offer,” he said. “We know how good he is, and how good he’s been for this franchise. It would be tough to look out at third base and not see that elite defense. And so, at some point, we’ll circle back and have those conversations.”

Bregman, who is entering the last year of a six-year, $100 million contract extension he signed in 2019, started 161 games last season and was an AL Gold Glove Award finalist at third base. He slashed .262/.363/.441 with 25 homers, 98 RBIs, 103 runs, 28 doubles and 92 walks.

Boras said Bregman’s situation is quite different than that of Altuve, who expressed his desire to remain in Houston and turns 34 this year. Bregman turns 30 next month, and he will be looking to maximize his worth.

3. Is Jake Meyers ready to take over in center field?
The Astros have had five players start in center field on Opening Day in the past five seasons, including Meyers last year. Meyers started a team-high 87 games in center in 2023 and slashed .227/.296/.382 with 10 homers and 33 RBIs. His playing time plummeted at the end of the season when Michael Brantley returned from injury, and Meyers didn’t see the field in the postseason (he wasn’t on the ALCS roster).

Brown said in December the club was going to give Meyers another shot to see what he could do as the starting center fielder, with Chas McCormick likely getting most of his reps in left field (designated hitter Yordan Alvarez is expected to play more left field this year as well). So why Meyers?

"We’d like to see what Meyers can do, see if we can get the bat going because the defense is pretty special,” Brown said in December. “If you can prevent runs, that’s a big part of winning. We’re going to be comfortable with our four guys right now. We’ll rotate them the way we need to rotate them.”

Meyers showed some flashes on offense last year, including a career-high four-hit game at Toronto on June 5, and he slugged a pair of three-run homers on Aug. 6 at the Yankees. He reached base safely in nine consecutive plate appearances from May 17-21. Meyers finished with a .785 OPS vs. left-handers and .646 against right-handers.

“I’m really excited for the opportunity,” Meyers said. “I feel I put in the work, not even over the season but over the course of my career before this. I’m just excited that they are giving me the opportunity and I’m ready to go.”