The Houston Astros are World Series champions -- and in the midst of an all-time great run. Can anything stop this juggernaut from repeating?
Houston has a ton of free agents and questions looming among its leadership. But it's fair to wonder if any of that will even matter, given the team's depth.
Here's what's next for the Astros -- from those notable free agents to the three biggest questions the franchise faces heading into next season and beyond.
Houston Astros
Notable free agents: SP Justin Verlander (option), OF Michael Brantley, C Christian Vazquez, DH Trey Mancini, RP Rafael Montero, RP Will Smith (option), C Martin Maldonado, INF/OF Aledmys Diaz, 1B Yuli Gurriel, C Jason Castro
It's quite a list, and there are some familiar names here, led by future Hall of Famer Verlander. But the thing is, the Astros could lose this entire list of players and be just fine. They'd have to do something about the catching position in particular, but they could figure that out. This isn't an observation about these players. It's one about how solid the foundation is for this organization.