Chad Qualls has his back-end bullpen mate, and there could be another on the way. A baseball source confirmed Monday that the Astros have agreed to a one-year deal with reliever Matt Albers, including a club option. The deal is pending a physical. FOX Sports, which first reported the deal, said Albers will make $2.25 [...]  More »

In what has been a tough year for the Astros, front office employee Abby Brantley of Pearland is one of the season’s biggest winners. Brantley, who works as a controller for the ballclub, won $24,000 in an episode of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” that aired Friday on KTRK (Channel 13). The Astros aired [...]  More »

Signing outfielder Shin-Soo Choo has never been impossible for the Astros. It’s always been speculated — more than once in the last day — but it also has always been unlikely. Let’s break it down: • The team highly values the lottery draft pick it would have to surrender to sign any player who received [...]  More »

The 2013 Astros, who lost their last 15 games of the year to finish with a franchise-worst record of 51-111, are, on merit, one of Texas Monthly magazine’s Bum Steers of the Year. A justifiable runner-up, however, is Texas Monthly’s design department. The magazine’s January 2014 cover features the lowly Astros and the equally lowly [...]  More »

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Considering the only players the Astros landed in the Rule 5 draft came in the minor-league round, they brought in a particularly intriguing trio. Knuckleballers are rare, and lefthanders who throw the pitch are baseball’s blue lobsters. Class-AA pick Blaine Sims, formerly of the Braves, is still learning the pitch, [...]  More »

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Lose most, win some. As the Rule 5 draft and the winter meetings wrapped Thursday morning, news broke that first baseman Michael Morse, one of the Astros’ targets, had signed with the Giants for one year and $5 million, plus incentives. The Astros reportedly were in serious discussions on Morse [...]  More »

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Last spring training, Astros manager Bo Porter knew only one thing about his lineup: Jose Altuve would be at second base. Heading into 2014, there’s substantially more that’s already clear in the skipper’s mind. “That competition is a little different this year,” Porter said. “We have a third baseman in Matt [...]  More »

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — In effect, the Astros made the first pick in the Rule 5 draft the day before the draft. The Astros selected lefthanded pitcher Patrick Schuster with the first pick in the draft on Thursday, but sent him immediately to the Padres, completing a trade the teams made Wednesday as a practically [...]  More »

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Astros made one transaction on Wednesday, although it’s incomplete for now. Follow along: the Astros received right-handed reliever Anthony Bass, plus a player to be named later or cash considerations, from the Padres, in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Bass, 26, gives the [...]  More »

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Disneyland was revisited at Disney World. In November at the general managers’ meetings, he compared the Astros to Disneyland, a comment that Astros owner Jim Crane referenced as an example of the ribbing the club has had to deal with. Speaking at a Disney World hotel Wednesday during the winter [...]  More »

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Astros have a lot of offers out. That doesn’t mean those are final offers, and as of Wednesday evening, they were no closer with one pitcher than another. The team wants one or two more relievers and they are also open to adding a starter. Simply put, they want [...]  More »

Astros All-Star catcher Jason Castro, who survived a bone-jarring collision with the Brewers’ Mat Gamel in April 2012, welcomes Major League Baseball’s decision to ban collisions at the plate next season. “It will be interesting,” Castro said. “It’s definitely going to change some things. It’s going to be something that guys are aware of. For [...]  More »

Q. Bo, what did you learn your first year as a manager? You’ve got your second year coming up, what did you learn as a manager and things you may do differently going into year two? BO PORTER: I tell you, the first thing I learned is I have a whole lot more patience than [...]  More »

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The winter meetings aren’t all about trades and free agents. There are potential career-changing moments to be had in all walks of baseball, and new tools to investigate. Alex Jacobs remembers the exact minute the Astros hired him: 7:08 p.m. on Dec. 7, 2012. Now the 26-year-old is a pro [...]  More »

Astros manager Bo Porter’s been involved in the free-agent process all along. Now he’s on the ground in Florida, continuing in his role as recruiter. “I’ll tell you, I’m extremely excited, but those conversations have been ongoing from the season, the middle of the season to the end of the season into free agency,” Porter [...]  More »