In the wake of the 2020 Astros offseason, there are many questions being left up in the air. Firstly, how will the Astros spend this offseason? Will they try and pick up any big free agents or resign any of their free agents? Will they still be a a competitive team next year? These were all question that I asked Blake Collins, a Northland student and diehard Astros fan, for his input on the offseason.

When first asked about the how the Astros would operate this offseason, he responded by saying, “I think they’ll go out and get a few bullpen pieces, hopefully resign Brantley and attempt to resign Springer too”. Like most Astros fans, Blake is hopeful that the Astros will make a big splash this offseason and get back one of their stars. He also talked about how he felt about the young talent the Astros had and if it would help make them competitive next season, and he said, “I think with guys like Framber Valdez, Christian Javier, Enoli Paredes, Kyle Tucker, and other guys, we should be in good hands for next season. I think the remaining guys will also have a big impact on our team.” Many fans have confidence in the younger talent being able to keep the Astros in a playoff push next year, and by the postseason performances of these players this year, this mindset seems to be something we can all adopt for next season.

Finally, I asked him about his opinion on the Astros’ perception by people and the media after their extended playoff run, and he said, “I think the Astros proved a lot of people wrong this year. Nobody expected them to get as far as they did, and I think they gained some respect for showing out and almost making it back to the World Series again after everything that’s happened.” Blake brought up how people thought that the Astros would be eliminated much sooner, and by eliminating two solid teams to get to the ALCS and playing a 7-game series earned them some respect from baseball fans who maybe thought about them otherwise. The Astros will try to get on the right path next year, and Blake and many other Astros fans know that all starts from a productive offseason, so all we can do is sit back and watch what happens for now.