The Astros’ infield appears to be in something of an impasse. they gained Carlos Correa before the deadline, and Jeremy Pena Correa’s presence means Correa needs to move to third base. it makes sense Isaac Paredes There were injuries, but it would have been tougher if everyone had been healthy. The Astros have Christian Walker Signed for two more seasons at first base. Jordan Alvarez Still the primary designated hitter, the Astros might welcome the opportunity to acquire Jose Altuve If only they could find more DH hitters.
There was speculation the Astros would trade an infielder this offseason based on the glut of corner bats. Much of that revolves around Paredes or Walker, but general manager Dana Brown downplayed the idea that the Astros would seek to trade either player. That’s especially true of Paredes, who hit .254/.352/.458 with 20 homers in 102 games in his first season in Houston.
“He’s one of the best at seeing pitches and working the count, and that’s one of the reasons we went out and traded him,” Brown told reporters at Wednesday’s general manager meeting (link via Matt Carvahala of the Houston Chronicle ). “We need that value in our roster. That’s the direction we’re trying to take. We feel like if we trade him, it’s going to weaken our roster. So right now, we have no interest in trading him.”
Paredes is the core of the team Kyle Tucker Back from the Cubs. Although he missed most of the second half with a severe right hamstring strain, he ranked fifth on the team in on-base percentage and tied for third in homers. Paredes returned at the end of the season, but was limited to DH duty. Brown said he’s currently around 65 percent healthy and “likely” to participate in Opening Day (via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com).
The 26-year-old’s swing lends itself to widening pop, making him an ideal choice at Houston’s Big King Park, where the Crawford box left a short porch in left field. The two-time All-Star was a solid hitter for the Rays, so he wasn’t just a product of the park, but he was perfectly tailor-made for even a lineup that was heavily skewed to the right side.
MLBTR writer Matt Swartz projects Paredes’ arbitration salary to be $9.3MM. He’ll go through the process again before becoming a free agent in the 2027-28 offseason. If the Astros do decide to purchase him, possibly as a starting pitcher, there will be a lot of interest in him, but they are clearly proceeding as if he will be in their lineup. Brown said the Astros wouldn’t consider him for a regular role at second base, so he’ll mostly return to the corner.
While that would seem to indicate the direction of a Walker trade, the general manager said that’s not currently being considered either. “We haven’t talked about Walker in a trade. Walker is our everyday first baseman,” Brown said. His situation is very different from that of Paredes. He signed for $20MM per year through his age 35-36 season. Walker hit a team-leading 27 home runs this year, but he posted a career-worst .238 on-base percentage and a .297 on-base percentage. The three-time Gold Glove winner also had an unusually average defensive record. Baseball Reference has him at backup level overall, while FanGraphs has him in a WAR.
If Walker were a free agent, he wouldn’t be netting $200,000 per season on a multi-year deal this season. The Astros would probably have to eat up about half that money to move him for a middling return. That would open up first base for Paredes and reallocate some cap space for rotation players, but it would leave them with more dead money at first base, like Jose Abreu The contract finally fell through. The Astros may value Walker’s power and defensive reputation enough to retain him in hopes he can rebuild some value.
Trading Correa or Pena seems even more far-fetched. “We’re not really trying to take guys off the infield on the trade market, just because we feel like all of those guys are going to be top players on our roster,” Brown said in a nutshell. “I think they’re all going to hit somewhere between 1 and 6. So I wouldn’t try to make any moves from an infield perspective.” That blanket statement probably doesn’t apply to utilities Ramon Urias or Mauricio Dupontwho are expected to earn $4.4MM and $5.8MM respectively in their final seasons of arbitration. The Astros could trade or not tender one of them, or both.
Brown talked generally about the Astros bouncing players around the diamond to maximize opportunities for veteran hitters to rest. Correa has never played second base, although he presumably has the ability to do so. One speculative option would be to give Correa a semi-regular second base job on the days when Paredes is the hot corner. They will have Altuve continuing to bounce between second base, left field and right field, while Alvarez splits time between right field and left field.
This will lead to some changes in the outfield. houston trade Jesus Sanchez Add a left-handed bat that can hit right field the entire game. Sanchez played very poorly, hitting .199/.269/.349, but made many defensive mistakes. His arbitration salary is expected to be $6.5MM and will be under club control for two seasons. Chandler Rome of The Athletic writes that the Astros are open to trade inquiries for Sanchez, though it seems more likely they won’t find interest and won’t make an offer for him before next Friday’s deadline.
That could leave the Astros looking for another left-handed hitting outfielder. rookie Zach Cole and Jacob Melton Can be taken into account, but records are limited. Tyler Trammell Probably on the roster bubble. Leave Sanchez and add similar people Max Kepler, Cedric Mullins or Mike Yastrzemski It makes sense in free agency.
Notably, Browns won’t commit to second-year outfielder Cam Smith Breaking camp in 2026. The former first-round pick, acquired along with Paredes in the Tucker trade, hit .236/.312/.358 in 493 games as a rookie. It wasn’t a disastrous performance for a player with such limited pro experience, and although Smith was drafted as a third baseman, he played well in right field. However, he struggled in the second half (.154/.247/.242) and may face a test against Triple-A pitching.
“We saw that last year, but we need him to be more consistent,” Brown said (via Roma ). “I think he’ll come back and try to play more consistently and make the necessary adjustments, but if he’s not out of the woods yet, we have to be open to sending him back to 3A. … There’s a lot to be said for a guy who works hard in the offseason and then makes the necessary adjustments. We hope Cam makes that. If he does, we’ll be excited.”
Selecting Smith would give the Astros the flexibility to pursue an everyday right fielder. Jack Meyers Although Rome reports that Houston has received considerable trade interest for the 29-year-old, he should return as the primary center fielder. That’s to be expected, as Meyers is an elite defender coming off a career year. He hit .292/.354/.373 in 381 games and greatly improved his strike zone discipline. He remains in control over the next two seasons and is expected to make $3.5MM annually. It’s hard to imagine Houston already looking for an outfielder to trade Meyers, but it’s possible another club is trying to force their hand by placing a controllable starting pitcher.
