This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart¡¯s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

HOUSTON -- The Astros will welcome several new faces to the club when Spring Training begins next month, including first baseman Christian Walker, third baseman Isaac Paredes and starting pitcher Hayden Wesneski. Gone will be three-time All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker and third baseman Alex Bregman, who¡¯s unlikely to return in free agency at this point.

The club is still pursuing a deal to trade relief pitcher Ryan Pressly to shed the $14 million he¡¯s owed this season and free up some money to add another bat, preferably in the outfield. Pressly has a no-trade clause and would have to agree to be traded to any other team, but Houston¡¯s offseason moves might not be over.

Astros manager Joe Espada last month addressed some other topics concerning players who will be back in 2025:

On how much slugger Yordan Alvarez will see time in left field next season:
¡°My answer always is keeping Yordan in the lineup is really important. Any time I throw him in left field consecutive games, he's going to post. He wants to help us win. He never says no, but I need to be more mindful of the more he plays out there, the more I'm asking of him, and I need to try to keep him healthy. So I would like to kind of cut back on the amount of reps that he gets in left field. So hopefully we could get that done and not ask Yordan to play that many innings in left.¡±

On how outfielder Chas McCormick can rebound this year:
¡°What I told McCormick is 2024, just turn the page, put that in the past. He's a really good player, and it's in there. I think he tried to do a little bit too much going into Spring Training and trying to put up the same numbers. ¡®Just be the same Chas McCormick that you've been for previous seasons, and you're going to be fine.¡¯ I told him, ¡®Hey, listen, that's in the past. Forget about it. Go home. Train, get ready, and get ready for Spring Training.¡¯¡±

On whether utility player Mauricio Dub¨®n could play a more regular role in 2025 after starting at seven positions last season:
¡°It's good to have Dub¨®n, because he's that guy. If something happens and we need to fill a spot, Dub¨®n is there. Dub¨®n has played 135, 140 games the past few years. So he plays almost every single day. What makes him valuable is he can start a game at third and finish in right field. Or he can come in at some point and pinch-hit and play defense and help us win the game. So having that piece on your team is super valuable. We are a really good team when Mauricio Dub¨®n is that player and we can just deploy him in many different ways.¡±

On expectations of right-hander Forrest Whitley, who made his big league debut last season as a reliever:
¡°I'm excited about Forrest Whitley. I think he's a guy we've been waiting for, for a long time. I think he's finally starting to turn the corner. I could see Forrest competing in our bullpen. But I'm excited for him. He's actually healthy, and I think he understands what it takes. He got a taste this year in the big leagues. I expect him to come in ready to go in Spring Training.¡±