Riding solid foundation
Astros have set themselves up to be perennial contenders
HOUSTON — After losing 100 games in three straight seasons, the Astros are in position to become the first team to win 100 in four consecutive years.
A core of Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman and George Springer has been supplemented with stud starting pitchers Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Zack Greinke, the combination leading the Astros to their second World Series appearance in three seasons.
“The ability to recognize when you have a chance to win — and realistically when you have a chance to win and not — I think is one of our most important responsibilities,” former Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said ahead of Tuesday’s Series opener against the Nationals. “You can fool yourself one way or the other. Making the wise decisions is extremely important for you to try to win a championship.”
The Astros went 56-106 in 2011 after dealing Lance Berkman, Michael Bourn, Roy Oswalt and Hunter Pence. The team was sold from Drayton McLane to Jim Crane that November, and the new owner fired general manager Ed Wade and replaced him with Jeff Luhnow, who had spent eight seasons in the Cardinals’ front office.
Luhnow, a University of Pennsylvania graduate with a Master of Business Administration degree from Northwestern, hoped to build a model of sustained success with a franchise that often acted as a mid-market team but does have the resources from the No. 7 television area in the U.S.
“Now we have two pennants under our belt, but what we really want is two-plus championships,” Luhnow said. “The goal was always to put ourselves in a position to win multiple championships.”
Luhnow inherited Altuve and Springer. Altuve signed as a 16-year-old in 2006 and had made his debut in July 2011, and Springer was selected 11th overall in the 2011 amateur draft.
The Astros remained at the bottom of the majors in Luhnow’s first two years, going 55-107 and a team-worst 51-111, earning more high draft choices. With three straight No. 1 picks, the Astros selected Correa in 2012 and squandered 2013 on pitcher Mark Appel. They used the third for pitcher Brady Aiken, failed to sign him because of concern over his elbow, then used the compensatory second overall pick in 2015 for Bregman.
Slowly, the turnaround started. The Astros went 70-92 in 2014 and 86-76 in 2015, their first winning record since 2008. They beat the Yankees in the AL wild-card game before losing to the Royals in a five-game Division Series.
After missing the playoffs in 2016, they won 101 games in 2017, sparked by the Aug. 31 acquisition of Verlander from the Tigers for three prospects. Luhnow recognized the Astros’ window to win had arrived.
The Astros beat the Dodgers in a seven-game World Series for its first title in 2017, with Springer chosen as the World Series MVP. Just 2 1⁄2 months later, Luhnow obtained Cole from the Pirates.
A 103-win season in 2018 was followed by a loss to the Red Sox in the ALCS as Altuve struggled with a knee injury that led to surgery, The Astros then set a team record by winning 107 games this year after getting Greinke from the Diamondbacks on July 31.
The Astros’ roster includes drafted players (reliever Josh James and outfielder Kyle Tucker), moderately priced free agent signings (outfielders Michael Brantley and Josh Reddick, relievers Hector Rondon and Joe Smith, and catcher Robinson Chirinos), international free agents (first baseman Yuli Gurriel and pitcher Jose Urquidy) and a waiver-wire pickup (reliever Will Harris) along with the trade acquisitions.