What Astros Surprising Playoff Exit Means For Contending Red Sox Future

The Boston Red Sox missed the postseason for the third consecutive season. They should be taking plenty of notes on how this October plays out for a team that hopes to contend with a finalized young core in 2025.

The Houston Astros provided Boston's first lesson on Wednesday when they were swept by the No. 6 seeded Detroit Tigers: competition is open in the American League.

The Astros did not reach at least the American League Championship Series for the first time since the 2016 season. Houston made seven straight trips to that round with four pennants and a pair of World Series titles. The Astros dominated the AL for years. Now, that run may be slowing down. Not done, they'll still be in the mix, but at a less-than-haunting level for other contenders.

Houston's best just got beat in this series. Starter Framber Valdez gave up 3 early runs in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card round and expensive reliever Josh Hader ultimately surrendered the go-ahead runs in the clincher for the Tigers. Offensively, the big Houston bats of Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman combined to go just 6-for-29 at the plate, including just 1-for-13 in Game 2.

The Astros took a step back despite winning the AL West once again with just 88 wins. The upcoming free agency for Bregman could lead him out of Houston, taking another piece away from their championship core of the past.

Houston should still return to postseason play in 2025, but they're not the powerhouse that should still strike fear in AL opponents. The Red Sox are going in a different direction than Houston and with the prospect reinforcements among big-league position players paired with potential pitching acquisitions, there's no reason Boston shouldn't be postseason bound in 2025.

Once they're in, teams like Detroit make it clear that teams just need to get in and let the chaos of October baseball ensue. Alex Cora wants the Red Sox to be "greedy" with sights on division titles. However, the last few postseasons under the new format should intrigue Boston on the potential as long as the ballclub does its job to get into the dance.