HOUSTON — Nineteen days before their first full-squad spring training workout, the Houston Astros are incomplete. Their infield is congested. Backup catcher is unsettled. The outfield is hinging its hopes on breakouts from two young players.

On Saturday, general manager Dana Brown did not sound like someone content with his roster construction. He is still engaged in trade discussions, some of which could bleed into spring training.

It’s difficult to envision the Astros maintaining the status quo throughout their six-week stay in West Palm Beach. If they do, this is how their Opening Day roster and lineup may look:

Astros projected 2026 lineup

Catchers (2): Yainer Diaz, César Salazar

Also in organization: Collin Price, Carlos Pérez, Walker Janek

Players in italics are on the 40-man roster

Following Victor Caratini’s departure to the Minnesota Twins, Salazar and Diaz are the only two catchers on Houston’s 40-man roster. The team is still searching for a more established backup to compete in spring training with Salazar, whom the team is worried about overexposing at the major-league level.

One veteran of interest to the Astros is Christian Vázquez, the backup on their 2022 World Series team, though no deal is believed to be close.

Salazar is out of minor-league options and is still making the league-minimum salary. Both facts may work in his favor to make the Opening Day roster, but whether he is ready to handle the rigors of being a full-time backup is a legitimate question. Bear in mind: Caratini caught 48 games last season as Diaz’s backup. Salazar has caught 12 complete games in his three-year major-league career.

For now, Pérez, a 35-year-old veteran of five major-league seasons, profiles as the closest thing to competition Salazar will face in camp.

Infield (6): Carlos Correa, Jeremy Peña, Isaac Paredes, Jose Altuve, Christian Walker, Nick Allen

Also in organization: Brice Matthews, Shay Whitcomb, Zach Dezenzo, Jax Biggers, Edwin Díaz

Houston’s infield surplus seems untenable. Altuve reprising his role as Houston’s primary second baseman leaves first base as the only position available for everyday at-bats. Instead, Walker and Paredes seem primed to begin the season there as a $29 million timeshare.

Trading either Paredes or Walker would create a more functional roster and perhaps an opening for top prospect Brice Matthews to carve a more regular role at the major-league level. That Matthews will take fly balls in center field during spring training accentuates how serious Houston is about finding avenues for him to impact the big-league club.

Brown is still searching for a left-handed bat and, on Saturday, said, “If we can make some sort of trade to do that, it would be intriguing for us to make the team better.”

Making Paredes available may be Brown’s best realistic chance at balancing his lineup. The Boston Red Sox, who have a surplus of left-handed hitting outfielders, have had interest in Paredes since December.

Though Brown is listening, multiple team sources maintain the Astros do not want to trade Paredes and are content with carrying this infield configuration into the season. Paredes’ pesky offensive profile is perfect for Houston’s otherwise impatient lineup, and his pull tendencies are ideal for Daikin Park. Trading him weakens the 2026 team, a fact that can’t be overstated.

Still, for as long as interest in Walker remains minimal and the rest of Houston’s infield remains healthy, Paredes seems pigeonholed into — at best — an awkward role on this flawed roster.

Outfield (4): Jesús Sánchez, Jake Meyers, Zach Cole, Cam Smith

Also in organization: Taylor Trammell, Zach Dezenzo, Joseph Sullivan, Lucas Spence

Two constants emerged from a winter’s worth of compelling comments about Houston’s outfield: Cam Smith’s honeymoon is over and team officials want to see more of Zach Cole.

Smith will report to spring training next month without a guaranteed spot on the Opening Day roster. Cole will arrive with every chance to crack the club after ascending Houston’s organizational hierarchy last season.

Provided Cole can conquer left field, enough space exists for both him and Smith on the Opening Day roster. Brown values Grapefruit League performance — it weighed heavily into Smith making the team last season — so both youngsters must produce in spring training to secure their roles.

Meyers, whom Houston shopped throughout the winter, will open the season as the starting center fielder. A best-case scenario includes Smith and Cole solidifying both corner spots, but the Astros do still have Sánchez as a (pricy) insurance policy.

Teams have inquired about Sánchez’s availability in trades.

On paper, Sánchez’s miserable post-trade deadline performance and $6.8 million salary may make him expendable. Uncertainty surrounding Smith’s and Cole’s inexperience could make having Sánchez — a left-handed hitter and natural right fielder — more appealing to Houston.

Designated hitter (1): Yordan Alvarez

It’s hard to envision Alvarez approaching his career high of 56 starts in left field. If anything, Houston may work to keep that number under 40. On Saturday, manager Joe Espada reiterated “the majority of (Alvarez’s) games will be at DH.”

Astros projected 2026 rotation

Starting pitchers (6): Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, Tatsuya Imai, Mike Burrows, Spencer Arrighetti, Lance McCullers Jr.

Also in organization: Ryan Weiss, Nate Pearson, Colton Gordon, AJ Blubaugh, Jason Alexander, J.P. France, Miguel Ullola, Peter Lambert, Bryce Mayer

Houston opens the season with 26 games in 28 days, signaling the Astros would deploy a six-man rotation out of spring training. Signing Imai — who pitched every fifth day in NPB — made it mandatory.

Imai, Brown, Burrows and Javier will enter spring training with guaranteed spots in the rotation. Competition for the final two slots behind them will be fierce — and perhaps the most intriguing storyline of the team’s six-week stay in West Palm Beach.

Based on major-league track record alone, Arrighetti and McCullers should have the upper hand when the team reports next month. Both have obvious injury concerns, but have been healthy throughout this offseason and should arrive at spring training without any setbacks. McCullers, it should be noted, is in the final year of a five-year, $85 million contract extension he signed before the 2022 season.

Weiss will push both pitchers for one of the final rotation spots, as should Nate Pearson, the former Toronto Blue Jays prospect Houston promised a chance to start upon signing him in October.

Astros projected 2026 bullpen

Relievers (7): Josh Hader, Bryan Abreu, Bryan King, Steven Okert, Enyel De Los Santos, Roddery Muñoz, Nate Pearson

Also in organization: Ryan Weiss, Bennett Sousa, Logan VanWey, Jayden Murray, Alimber Santa

Six-man rotations shorten the bullpen. Because Houston will deploy one at the beginning of the season, when starting pitchers are sometimes still building up their pitch counts, it would behoove the club to carry long relievers.

That could be the fate for whoever loses the rotation competition — be it Weiss, Pearson, Arrighetti or McCullers. Weiss does have minor-league option years remaining, according to FanGraphs, which is why he is the odd man out of this roster projection. Pearson is out of minor-league options and will be stretched out as a starter in spring training.

Houston must carry Muñoz, a Rule 5 pick, on its Opening Day roster or offer him back to the Cincinnati Reds. De Los Santos and Okert are on guaranteed deals and do not have minor-league options remaining, so both enter spring in advantageous positions, provided they pitch well.

Sousa, Murray and VanWey do have options remaining, which will be crucial if Houston wants to construct a maneuverable roster to handle the start of the season.