The 2026 Houston Astros season was the 65th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 62nd as the Astros, 14th in both the American League (AL) and AL West division, and 27th at Daikin Park. The Astros entered the season with an 87–75 record as runners-up in the AL West, three games behind the division-champion Seattle Mariners and having missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Former outfielder Carlos Beltrán and second baseman Jeff Kent, integral pieces to Houston's first-ever National League (NL) Wild Card title in 2004, were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Houston was one of four host cities for the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournament, including Pool B and two quarterfinals games taking place at Daikin Park. On March 26, right-hander Hunter Brown made his first career Opening Day start for the Astros, who hosted the Los Angeles Angels, but were shut out, 3-0.
On May 25, Tatsuya Imai, Steven Okert, and Alimber Santa—making his major league debut—combined for the 18th no-hitter in franchise history, a 9–0 triumph over the Texas Rangers. Yordan Alvarez received his fourth career selection to the MLB All-Star Game. On August 24, the team removed general manager Dana Brown from his position. On September 4, Josh Hader became the 41st reliever to attain 250 career saves, and, five days later, Jose Altuve registered his 2,500th career hit, the 103rd player to do so.
On the final day of the regular season, the Astros clinched their eighth AL West division title — all since 2017 (2017–2019, 2021–2024, 2026) — 15th division title overall, and 19th playoff appearance. They returned to the postseason for the tenth time in twelve years (2015, 2017–2024, 2026). Yordan Alvarez led the major leagues in batting average (.316) to become the third Astros player to win a batting championship.
At only 81 wins, the Astros became the worst team to ever qualify for the playoffs, surpassing the record from the 2005 San Diego Padres. However, their season came to an abrupt end when they were swept by the Chicago White Sox in two games in the American League Wild Card Series despite having won the regular season series against them, 5–2
Offseason Summary The Astros concluded the 2025 season with an record, narrowly missing the playoffs, to break franchise-record strings of both four successive AL West division championships and eight consecutive seasons qualifying for the playoffs, excluded the first time since 2016. This marked the first time since 2020 that they had not won the division. Houston finished second in the AL West, three games behind the division-champion Seattle Mariners. The Astros tied with the Detroit Tigers with identical 87–75 records for the third and final Wild Card position. However, since Detroit won the season series, they retained the tiebreaker to qualify for the postseason.
Right-hander Hunter Brown authored a breakout performance in 2025, including ranking third in the major leagues with a 2.43 earned run average (ERA). Brown received his first selection to the All-MLB Team, on the Second Team. By virtue of finishing within the top three voting for the Cy Young Award, and Brown's former top-100 prospect status, the Astros received a prospect promotion incentive pick in the 2026 MLB draft.
The Astros made several personnel changes, including dismissing assistant general manager Andrew Ball, head athletic trainer Jeremiah Randall, hitting coaches Alex Cintrón and Troy Snitker, and catching coach Michael Collins.
Two former Astros became Hall of Fame inductees. Second baseman Jeff Kent, who appeared in the 2003 and 2004 seasons for the Astros, was announced as an inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame, selected through the Contemporary Baseball Era committee. During Kent's latter stage with Houston, the club won their first-ever playoff series, the National League Division Series (NLDS), to advance to their third National League Championship Series (NLCS). During that playoff run, Kent batted .234/.333/.532 with three home runs and 10 runs batted in (RBI) in 10 games. Also on the 2004 squad was Carlos Beltrán, an electee to the Hall of Fame via balloting from the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). Acquired prior to that year's All-Star break in a three-team trade with the Kansas City Royals, Beltrán tied Barry Bonds' playoff record for home runs with eight. Beltrán departed for the New York Mets via free agency that off-season. He returned in 2017 to become a member of Houston's first-ever World Series championship team. Hence, Beltrán became Houston's first-ever Hall-of-Famer as a member both the NL- and AL-era clubs.
The 2026 World Baseball Classic was staged on four sites: in Tokyo, Miami, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Houston. In Houston, Daikin Park hosted all 10 Pool B games from March 6 to 11 and the quarterfinals.
Transactions
Major League free agents Following 2025 World Series (C) Astros electing free agency November 2, 2025 Contracts expired after World Series Signed with Minnesota Twins January 16, 2026 2 years, $14 million (RP) Signed with New York Mets January 14, 2026 1 year, $2.5 million (minors) (2B) Signed with Boston Red Sox February 5, 2026 1 year (minors) (SP) Signed with Detroit Tigers February 10, 2026 3 years, $115 million (IF) Departed Houston Astros Arbitration phase non-tender Signed with St. Louis Cardinals February 21, 2026 1 year, $2 million International free agents (RHP) Departed Hanwha Eagles KBO League Signed with Houston Astros December 11, 2025 1 year, $2.6 million (RHP) Departed Saitama Seibu Lions Nippon Professional Baseball Signed with Houston Astros January 2, 2026 3 years, $54 million
+ Minor league free agents Player Position Date Organization departed Gaining organization Right-handed pitcher Tokyo Yakult Swallows Houston Astros Utility player Kansas City Royals Houston Astros Catcher Minnesota Twins Houston Astros Right-handed pitcher Houston Astros New York Yankees
November 19, 2025 To Atlanta BravesMauricio Dubón (UT) To Houston Astros Nick Allen (IF) December 18, 2025 To Tampa Bay RaysJacob Melton (OF)—from Houston Anderson Brito (RHP)—from Houston To Pittsbugh Pirates Brandon Lowe (2B)—from Tampa Bay Jake Mangum (OF)—from Tampa Bay Mason Montgomery (LHP)—from Tampa Bay To Houston Astros Mike Burrows (RHP)—from Pittsburgh January 29, 2026 To San Francisco GiantsJancel Villarroel (C) To Houston Astros Kai-Wei Teng (RHP) February 13, 2026 To Toronto Blue JaysJesús Sánchez (OF) To Houston Astros Joey Loperfido (OF)
Player Position Phase Drafted from Drafted by Right-handed pitcher Major League Cincinnati Reds Houston Astros Edwin Sánchez Right fielder AAA Los Angeles Dodgers Houston Astros Abel Mercedes Right-handed pitcher AAA Houston Astros Athletics
Departing personnel Coaching title Arriving personnel Alex Cintrón Hitting Vic Rodriguez Troy Snitker Assistant hitting Anthony Iapoce Bill Murphy Assistant pitching / bullpen Ethan Katz Michael Collins Catching Tim Cossins
Spring training The Astros commenced spring training on February 21, 2026, and concluded on March 24 with an overall performance of . This record ranked Houston 11th of 15 clubs within the Grapefruit League. On March 3, the Astros hosted Team Venezuela, who were preparing for the World Baseball Classic (WBC). Managed by Astros' bench coach Omar López, Venezuela ultimately won the tournament, defeating the United States 3–2 in the WBC Final.
Former Astros pitcher Ryan Pressly joined Space City Home Network (SCHN) as a pre- and post-game analyst for the Astros per an announcement on March 15, 2026.
Spring training non-roster invitees Player Position 2025 organization Texas Rangers Cleveland Guardians Houston Astros Los Angeles Dodgers Houston Astros Houston Astros Houston Astros Houston Astros Houston Astros Tokyo Yakult Swallows Houston Astros Athletics Chicago Cubs Houston Astros Miami Marlins Houston Astros Houston Astros Texas Rangers Houston Astros Houston Astros Houston Astros Minnesota Twins Atlanta Braves
World Baseball Classic
Houston Astros in the 2026 WBC Role National team — — — — —
In addition to López, Astros bullpen catcher Javier Bracamonte, who assumed the same role for Team Venezuela, was also a World Baseball Classic champion.
Regular season Summary March—April The 2026 season in MLB began on March 25, with one game between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants, denominated as "Opening Night." Meanwhile, the Astros, along with most MLB teams, commenced their season the following day, the earliest for the traditional slate of Opening Day in league history. Also, the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) was implemented for major league game play for the first time in 2026.
+ Opening Day starting lineup Player Position 27 Jose Altuve Second baseman 44 Yordan Alvarez Designated hitter 15 Isaac Paredes Third baseman 1 Carlos Correa Shortstop 10 Joey Loperfido Left fielder 11 Cam Smith Right fielder 8 Christian Walker First baseman 21 Yainer Díaz Catcher 6 Jake Meyers Center fielder 58 Hunter Brown Pitcher Venue: Daikin Park • Los Angeles (AL) 3, Houston 0 Sources:
On Opening Day, March 26, 2026, the Los Angeles Angels tossed a combined shutout of the Astros, 3–0. Right-hander Hunter Brown made his first career Opening Day start for Houston and tossed shutout innings with 9 strikeouts but was outlasted by José Soriano with seven shutout innings. Mike Trout homered, stole a base and coaxed three base on balls to lead Los Angeles to victory. The Astros got their first victory of the season on March 28, defeating the Angels, 11–9. Aided by wildness and errors, the Astros overcame a 6–0 deficit, exploding for three runs in the fifth inning and eight in the sixth. Eight of the starting nine in the batting order collected a hit and run scored each. First baseman Christian Walker scored his 500th career run.
On March 27 and March 29, two Astros hurlers with substantial experience in professional baseball in Asia made their major league debuts, Ryan Weiss, (Chinese Professional Baseball League and KBO League)) and Tatsuya Imai (Nippon Professional Baseball, NPB), respectively. On March 30, Lance McCullers Jr. led an 8–1 win over the Boston Red Sox, while Jose Altuve connected for four hits and two home runs. McCullers went seven innings or more, with one run or fewer for the first time since July 16, 2021. McCullers whiffed nine. This was Altuve's 42nd four-hit game, and third as a multi-homer bout, his first of this type since September 4, 2023.
Tatsuya Imai (1–0) obtained his first major league victory on April 4, backed by a record-setting batting performance at Sutter Health Park. The Astros shut out the Athletics, 11–0, with 18 hits and 13 walks. The 13 walks tied for second most in a nine-inning contest in club history, while they set the club record for a nine-inning game with 17 runners left on base (LOB). Moreover, the Astros were two hits short of producing just the second bout in club history of aggregating at least 20 hits and 10 walks. Yordan Alvarez drew four of the walks—reaching base five times—Jeremy Peña and Christian Vázquez each doubled twice, while Christian Walker doubled and homered. Imai allowed three hits over innings and struck out nine. This was the second time in Alvarez' career that he drew four walks in a game, with first occurring on August 20, 2019.