The Houston Astros’ season ended with a playoff exit that only deepened the frustration around a team that stumbled into October at .500 and then never looked like it belonged there. The Chicago White Sox swept Houston, the Astros never held a lead in either game, and the bullpen issues that had lingered all year showed up fast and loud.
If there was one part of the roster that looked especially shaky, it was the relief group beyond Josh Hader. Hader was excellent, but he can’t cover everything, and the Astros simply didn’t have enough reliable arms behind him.
AJ Blubaugh, Bryan Abreu, Miguel Ullola, and Peter Lambert all handled their work well enough across Tuesday and Wednesday night, but the depth problems were impossible to miss. Lambert, in particular, gave Houston a gutsy outing even though he was working on just two days of rest.
The two arms who most clearly hurt their case for 2027 were Bryan King and Bennett Sousa. Both were on one-year deals, and after what happened in the Wild Card round, it’s hard to imagine either one getting another shot.
King was the first move that backfired. Joe Espada brought him in at the top of the second inning with Houston already down 1-0, even though King had been carrying a 10.80 ERA over his previous 16.1 innings. The result was a disaster: five batters, five reached, four singles and a hit by pitch, and the White Sox quickly pushed the lead to 3-0 before King could record an out.
Sousa didn’t fare much better later in the opener, even after Houston’s offense had briefly given the club some life. Singles and a wild pitch only added to Chicago’s cushion, and his rough finish to the year - a near7.50 ERA over his final 15 games - makes a return feel unlikely.
There’s plenty to sort through after an ugly season, and the bullpen is right at the center of it. For the Astros, the offseason already has a clear starting point: King and Sousa don’t look like part of the answer.
In Other News...
Astros October Letdown Drew A Reaction Houston Fans Never Wanted
The postseason return to Chicago turned sour fast for Houston, and by the end of the American League Wild Card round the bigger storyline was not just the White Sox sweep, but the mood around the ballpark. The Astros came in as AL West champions despite an 81-81 regular season, yet the atmosphere reflected a fan base that had seen enough uneven baseball to turn impatient, with boos and sparse crowds underscoring how far this October run fell short of the standard Houston had built in recent years.
Players acknowledged the frustration, and it was easy to understand why. For a club used to setting the bar far higher, getting knocked out in two games served as a blunt reminder that the usual October expectations were still there even if the results were not. The reaction from the stands said plenty about how Astros fans processed the ending, and it leaves Houston staring at an offseason where simply reaching the playoffs will not feel like enough. [Read more 🡒]
Astros Playoff Collapse Just Put Joe Espada At Center Of Huge Decision
The Astros are entering a familiar October pressure cooker, but this one has implications beyond the box score. With Jim Crane saying the clubs playoff showing will weigh on the future of Joe Espada, the managers status has become part of the postseason backdrop, especially with his contract set to expire after the season and the organization already having made a major change by firing Dana Brown in August.
Espada now sits at the center of a decision that could shape Houstons next step while also affecting the wider managerial market. Several MLB clubs are looking for managers, and if the Astros opt not to renew his deal, Espada would immediately become a name to watch elsewhere, adding another layer of intrigue to a stretch that already carries plenty for Houston to sort through. [Read more 🡒]
Astros Ended Their Season With A Loss Fans Will Debate All Winter
The Astros wrapped up the 2026 season with a finale that got away from them almost immediately, as four first-inning runs from the White Sox put Houston in a hole it could never fully climb out of. Hunter Brown was shaky early, and the trouble only deepened when defensive miscues from Yordan Alvarez and Nick Allen helped extend Chicagos opening surge, turning what should have been a clean last day into a frustrating reminder of how quickly a game can tilt.
Houston did manage to answer with three solo home runs, but the offense never put together the kind of sustained pressure that might have erased the early damage. The missed chances with runners aboard will linger into the winter, because this was the kind of loss that leaves fans sorting through what went wrong in one inning, one defensive sequence, and one final opportunity to end the year on a cleaner note. [Read more 🡒]