These 3 Astros arms are sharing food, a card table and wisdom this spring

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Astros pitcher Forrest Whitley typically handles grilling, all 6-foot-7 of him. Teammates Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti prepare the side dishes, and rumor has it that Brown makes some killer mashed potatoes. C.J. Stubbs, a catcher in the Nationals' system, handles the salads.

The monotony and the grind of Spring Training -- where every day feels like a Monday -- can take a physical and mental toll on players. Sometimes they just need a place to get away from it all and surround themselves with the camaraderie of friends over good food and just being guys.

Whitley, Brown and Arrighetti -- three mid-20s right-handers the Astros are depending on to play big roles in 2025 -- decided to share a house this spring along with Stubbs, a former Astros Minor Leaguer whose brother, Garrett, played for the Astros and is currently with the Phillies. They¡¯re splitting a four-bedroom, four-bathroom home in Hobe Sound that serves as their sanctuary from the rigors of camp.

It has provided the three Astros pitchers the chance to get to know each other better as people and teammates through sharing their experiences on and off the baseball field.

¡°Any time you¡¯re living with your teammates in Spring Training, it¡¯s beneficial,¡± said Whitley, the Astros¡¯ former top prospect who made his debut last year. ¡°We get along very well. It¡¯s nice to come home and have conversations, debrief and kind of move on from the day and have a separate life outside of the field. They¡¯re super easy to live with.¡±

The vibe at the house is so chill that other players, including Jake Meyers and Colton Gordon, have been over, too.

¡°It¡¯s the hangout house,¡± Arrighetti said. ¡°It¡¯s been fun.¡±

Arrighetti, who made 28 starts last year as a rookie, trained with Whitley in the offseason and began bouncing around the idea of living together. Brown came down to Houston to throw bullpen sessions in January at Daikin Park, and soon all three were on a text chain discussing spring housing plans.

Whitley found the house through Airbnb, which was challenging considering the number of baseball players looking for housing, spring breakers coming to Florida in March and the PGA event that takes place in Palm Beach Gardens in late February.

¡°I¡¯ve always stayed at a hotel, so for me it¡¯s been really, really nice, honestly, having a home to go home to instead of a hotel room,¡± Arrighetti said. ¡°Those guys are two of my best friends here, so it¡¯s been a ride. We all love playing games, love watching sports and hanging out. I think we¡¯ve grilled pretty much every single night. It¡¯s been really good getting to spend more quality time with some teammates and build some really special bonds on the pitching staff.¡±

Whitley¡¯s on the grill and handling the spatula most nights, grilling steaks or fish. There¡¯s frequent trips to the grocery store and the good meat market they found. Steaks, mashed or baked potatoes, vegetables and salads are the most popular meals.

¡°We eat a lot of red meat,¡± Arrighetti said.

After dinner, the players will do everything from watching television and golf videos to playing cards, Fortnite or Catan, the board game where players take on the roles of settlers and attempt to build and develop holdings while trading and acquiring resources.

¡°I would say Stubbs has been a great glue guy for us,¡± said Brown, who went 10-4 with a 2.31 ERA in his final 20 starts last season. ¡°Having four guys, you can do a little more. You can play some cards a little better. At dinner, everybody¡¯s got their own niche that they¡¯ve got. It¡¯s been great.¡±

As much as the players try to get away from baseball, the game does come up. They bounce ideas off of each other and Stubbs, who can give them a catcher¡¯s perspective.

¡°Hunter¡¯s really rock solid in his beliefs on pitching, which is awesome,¡± Arrighetti said. ¡°Listening to him talk about his arsenal has really been cool for me and the way he believes in his heaters. ¡­ Forrest is elite in about every way it comes -- outlier body, outlier stuff, outlier mentality. I leaned a lot on those guys.¡±

While they all have their quirks, Whitley said they all respect the common spaces and each other -- just as you¡¯d hope four friends would.

¡°There¡¯s not anything annoying that any of us do,¡± Whitley said. ¡°If anything, I leave the back door open too often. We¡¯re all respectful of each other.¡±