The Houston Astros are no strangers to losing stars. But this off-season—it was a whole entire ballgame.

The Astros ended up losing not one or two but three of their key players. Kyle Tucker left for the Chicago Cubs, accepting a $16.5 million salary. Then Ryan Pressly, the bullpen’s talented pitcher, too, landed with the Cubs with a $30 million contract. But the most expensive loss for Houston was that of Alex Bregman. Who, after plenty of back and forth, has left and is now sitting happy with his $120 million deal in Boston. That’s $166.7 million of talent, just up and out of Houston.

For a team promising to make a fresh new start, this is not looking good, more like doomsday for some fans. But Christian Walker isn’t buying into this. Even though he didn’t sign up for a team that’s on the rebuild, the offseason moves have not wavered or made him repent his decision to move to Houston. And to sign that three-year, $60 million deal with them.

Walker told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, “The culture, the tradition, the history of winning, the success that this organization has, was very appealing to me. “ With the business of the game, people come and go. ‘Replacing guys’ doesn’t feel like the right phrase. But you can make some moves and some adjustments and move some guys around. Leadership, like (Jose) Altuve learning a new position for us—things like that are how you bridge the gap from losing a really good player.”

And certainly the lineup is looking different now after Walker and Isaac Paredes came in. Plus, with Altuve moving from second base to left field. Both plus and minus!

Now Altuve is someone who the team feels is the heart of the franchise. But he is turning 35 in May and is coming off one of the worst offensive seasons in his career. If you look at his OPS+ rate, it is clear. However, on the bright side, Walker and Parades have much to give to the lineup.

Christian Walker has averaged 32 homers in the last three seasons, and Parades, a pull-heavy hitter, is moving into baseball’s most favored ballpark for right-handed power hitters. So even if they don’t have the previous cornerstones, Walker is not worried, “This team has found ways to win before. And I don’t see that changing now.” And this is something even Joe Espada would high-five on.

Joe Espada is confident in the Houston Astros ability to adapt

Espada is no stranger to the reality of the situation in Houston Astros. However, instead of running away from the situation, he has accepted it. He told The Athletic, “This team has been able to sustain those losses. And it allows other people to step up and get us deep into the postseason.” And he even gave the history as the proof of how the Astros know how to change with the weather.

Joe Espada pointed out to 2020, when Houston had moved into the ALCS even though they had just lost Gerrit Cole. He also talked about 2021, when Kyle Tucker really upped the game after George Springer left. And even in 2022, when Jeremy Pena had replaced Carlos Correa very smoothly. And that also went to win the ALCS and the World Series MVP honors. So you see, Espada is 100% confident they can rock.

But for sure this time the losses feel different. It’s the first time in nearly a decade that the Houston Astros has lost three cornerstones at once. Actually four if you count Justin Verlander too. Right now, the room for error is absolutely thinner than ever. Plus, their farm system is also not offering the talent it once did. Keith Law had ranked the farm system, and the Astros had ranked 29 out of 30 teams. So room for error is actually none.

Houston Astros sure need their veterans and newcomers to be on their A game if they want to prove they are here to stay and win. What do you think about the team? Drop your thoughts below.