Astros utility player just made an easy decision about his future

Washington Nationals v Houston Astros | Houston Astros/GettyImagesIf you followed the 2025 Houston Astros, you know the margin for bench roles was razor-thin. Houston spent most of the year toggling between lineup continuity and injury patches, and when the dust settled, the club largely locked in its everyday spots with little oxygen left for fringe bats.

That’s the unforgiving reality for a glove-first utility type on a team trying to contend: if you don’t immediately hit, opportunities dry up fast, even when you’re doing the little things right behind the scenes.

That’s why Zack Short’s decision to elect free agency reads less like a surprise and more like common sense. He’s the archetype…