Editing Houston Astros (section)

===2006–2009: The decline===
In the 2006 offseason, the team signed [[Preston Wilson]] and moved Berkman to first base, ending the long tenure of Jeff Bagwell. The Astros renewed the contract with Clemens and traded two minor league prospects to the [[Tampa Bay Devil Rays]] for left-handed hitter [[Aubrey Huff]]. By August, Preston Wilson complained about his playing time after the return of [[Luke Scott (baseball)|Luke Scott]] from AAA Round Rock. The Astros released Wilson and he was signed by St. Louis. A dramatic season end included wins in 10 of their last 12 games, but the Astros missed a playoff appearance when they lost the final game of the season to the Atlanta Braves.

On October 31, the Astros declined a contract option on [[Jeff Bagwell]] for 2007, ending his 15-year Astros career and leading to his retirement. [[Roger Clemens]] and [[Andrew Pettitte|Andy Pettitte]] filed for free agency.  On December 12, the Astros traded [[Willy Taveras]], [[Taylor Buchholz]], and [[Jason Hirsh]] to the [[Colorado Rockies]] for Rockies pitchers [[Jason Jennings]] and [[Miguel Asencio]]. A trade with the White Sox, involving the same three Astros in exchange for Jon Garland, had been nixed a few days earlier when Buchholz reportedly failed a physical. In the end, Taveras continued to develop and Hirsh had a strong 2007 rookie campaign, while Jennings was often injured and generally ineffective.

[[File:Orlando Palmeiro 2007.jpg|thumb|Astros' outfielder [[Orlando Palmeiro]], 2007]]
On April 28, 2007, the Astros purchased the contract of top minor league prospect [[Hunter Pence]]. He debuted that night, getting a hit and scoring a run. By May 2007, the Astros had suffered one of their worst losing streaks (10 games). On June 28, second baseman [[Craig Biggio]] became the 27th MLB  player to accrue 3,000 career hits. Biggio needed three hits to reach 3,000 and ended the night with a total of five hits. That night, [[Carlos Lee]] hit a towering walk-off grand slam in the 11th inning. Lee later quipped to the media that "he had hit a walk-off grand slam and he got second billing", considering Biggio's achievement. On July 24, Biggio announced that he would retire at the end of the season. He hit a grand slam in that night's game which broke a 3–3 tie and led to an Astros win. In Biggio's last at bat, he grounded out to [[Chipper Jones]] of the Atlanta Braves.

On September 20, [[Ed Wade]] was named general manager. In his first move, he traded [[Jason Lane]] to the Padres on September 24. On September 30, Craig Biggio retired after twenty years with the team. In November, the Astros traded RHP [[Brad Lidge]] and SS [[Eric Bruntlett]] to the Philadelphia Phillies for OF [[Michael Bourn]], RHP [[Geoff Geary]], and minor leaguer [[Mike Costanzo]]. [[Utility player (baseball)|Utility player]] [[Mark Loretta]] accepted Houston's salary arbitration and [[Kazuo Matsui]] finalized a $16.5&nbsp;million, three-year contract with the team.  In December, the Astros traded OF [[Luke Scott (baseball)|Luke Scott]], RHP [[Matt Albers]], RHP [[Dennis Sarfate]], LHP [[Troy Patton]], and minor-league 3B [[Mike Costanzo]], to the [[Baltimore Orioles]] for SS [[Miguel Tejada]]. On December 14, they sent infielder [[Chris Burke (baseball)|Chris Burke]], RHP [[Juan Gutiérrez (baseball)|Juan Gutiérrez]], and RHP [[Chad Qualls]] to the Arizona Diamondbacks for RHP [[José Valverde]]. On December 27, the Astros came to terms on a deal with All-Star, Gold Glove winner [[Darin Erstad]].

In January and February 2008, the Astros signed [[Brandon Backe]], [[Ty Wigginton]], [[Dave Borkowski]] and [[Shawn Chacón]] to one-year deals. The starting rotation would feature [[Roy Oswalt]] and Brandon Backe as numbers one and two. [[Wandy Rodríguez]], Chacón and [[Chris Sampson]] rounded out the bottom three slots in the rotation. [[Woody Williams]] had retired after a 0–4 spring training and [[Jason Jennings]] was now with Texas. On the other side of the roster, the Astros would start without Kazuo Matsui, who was on a minor league rehab assignment after a spring training injury.

The Astros regressed in 2008 and 2009, finishing with records of 86–75 and 74–88, respectively.  Manager [[Cecil Cooper]] was fired after the 2009 season. At the lowest point of the regression, child admission was free.