The first 30 games of the 2026 season have been nothing short of a disaster for the Astros. Tuesday’s loss in Baltimore dropped their record to an AL-worst 11-19. Only the Phillies, who have fired their manager, and Mets, who could be next, have fewer wins across the sport.
The struggles have been team-wide, but some players have been especially disappointing. Here’s my top four:
With Josh Hader sidelined for the start of the season with left biceps inflammation, Abreu was given an opportunity to show what he could do as a team’s primary closer. It’s been nothing short of a disaster.
Not only did Abreu lose his job as the Astros closer, he’s become unusable in spots with any sort of leverage.
Abreu allowed runs in each of his first six appearances, joining Brandon Bielak as the only Astros pitchers to do so since the 2017 season. He has a 12.96 ERA in 10 appearances. His strikeout rate has dropped to 28.3 percent, while his walk rate has risen to match it.
Abreu’s fastball velocity is off more than 2 MPH from where it was last season, and he failed to crack 95 MPH during his last outing against the Yankees.
Everything about Abreu’s season resembles Billy Wagner’s 2000 campaign, which was cut short due to Tommy John surgery. Abreu has gone from a pitcher poised to land a big free-agent contract to one who might not make it through the season.
Expectations were high for Imai, who signed a three-year, $54 million contract with opt-outs after the first two seasons, but the early returns have been underwhelming. After failing to finish the third inning in his first start, Imai struck out nine over 5 2/3 scoreless innings against a strong Athletics lineup in Sacramento. However, six days later he failed to complete the first inning in Seattle and is now on the IL.
Imai’s biggest issue on the mound has been an inability to throw strikes. He’s walked 11 of the 44 batters he’s faced, and he’s generated swings on just 22 percent of pitches thrown out of the zone, one of the lowest chase rates in the league.
Imai has struggled with the transition from NPB to MLB, as expected. His start in West Sacramento showed his upside, but the Astros need him healthy and consistently throwing strikes.
The fans wanted the manager fired whenever the manager started the older, portly catcher from Puerto Rico over Diaz in 2023. Three years later, the fans want the manager fired whenever he does the opposite.
That’s where we’re at with Diaz, who has been thoroughly outplayed by Christian Vazquez, who was without a job when spring training started. The 27-year old is slashing .229/.250/.349 in 88 plate appearances this season, good for a 65 OPS+. Diaz finished the 2023 season with a 128 OPS+, and it has steadily fallen ever since.
Diaz’s chase rate has dropped to a career-low 41.3 percent, which is still one of the highest rates in the league, but he’s not doing damage on pitches in the zone. He’s hitting the ball on the ground too much, and he’s only hitting the ball in the air to left field 5.6 percent of the time.
Defensively, Diaz has regressed every season, which likely cost former Astros catching coach Michael Collins his job after last season, and he hasn’t shown any improvement under new catching coach Tim Cossins.
Matthews didn’t have the same lofty expectations as the others on this list, but the Astros were still hoping for more from Dana Brown’s first draft pick. Matthews is slashing .188/.264/.660 after hitting a home run in Baltimore on Tuesday. To make matters worse, his strikeout rate is 38.9 percent, well above the league average of 22.2 percent.
The sample size is small, but Matthews has improved his chase rate to 22.3 percent from 31.8 percent, but he’s 0 for 18 on fastballs with 13 strikeouts when gets to two strikes, and he’s 2 for 30 overall.
Matthews has tools, as shown by the 387-foot opposite-field homer he hit at Camden Yards, but those swings have been few and far between. The depletion of the Astros’ position player corps is the main reason Matthews is still in the big leagues, and a trip back to Sugar Land could do him some good once players start to get healthy.