Based on that abundance of corner bats, there is speculation that the Astros will trade an infielder this offseason. Most of that revolved around Paredes or Walker, but general manager Dana Brown downplayed the idea that the Astros wanted to move either player. That’s especially true for Paredes, who posted a .254/.352/.458 line with 20 home runs in 102 games during his first season in Houston.
“He was one of the best guys at seeing pitches and working counts and it’s one of the reasons we went and traded for him,” Brown told reporters at the GM Meetings on Wednesday (link via Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle). “We need that value in our lineup. It’s exactly the direction we’re trying to go in. We feel if we trade him it would weaken our lineup. So at this point we have no interest in trading him.”
Paredes was the center of the Kyle Tucker return of the Cubs. He ranked fifth on the team in on-base percentage and tied for third in home runs, despite missing most of the second half with a significant right hamstring strain. Paredes returned late in the season but was limited to DH work. Brown said he is currently about 65% healthy and will “potentially” be available for Opening Day (via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com).
The 26-year-old’s swing is geared toward pull-side pop, making him an ideal fit at Houston’s Daikin Park, where the Crawford Boxes leave a short porch in left field. The two-time All-Star was a veteran hitter for the Rays, so it’s not like he’s just a product of the park, but he’s a perfect fit, even for a lineup that skews heavily to the right.
MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Paredes for an arbitration salary of $9.3 million. He will go through that process one more time before hitting free agency during the 2027-28 offseason. There would be significant interest if the Astros decided to acquire him, likely because he will be pitching, but they are clearly operating as if he is in their lineup. Brown said the Astros are not considering him for a regular role at second base, so he will mostly return in the corners.
While that would seemingly point toward a Walker trade, the GM indicated that is also not currently being considered. “We haven’t discussed Walker in a trade. Walker is our everyday first baseman,” Brown said. He is in a very different place than Paredes. He signs for $20 million annually for the 35-36 seasons. Walker had a team-leading 27 home runs this year, but he hit .238 with a career-worst on-base percentage of .297. The three-time Gold Glove winner also posted uncharacteristically mediocre defensive numbers. Baseball Reference felt he was right at replacement level overall, while FanGraphs had him at one WAR.
That’s not the kind of season that would earn Walker $20 million per season on a multi-year contract if he were a free agent. The Astros might have to eat about half the money to move him for a mediocre return. That would open up first base for Paredes and reallocate a little salary cap space for rotation additions, but it would leave them with more dead money on a first baseman like the José Abreu contract is finally off the books. The Astros might like Walker’s strength and defensive reputation enough to keep him in hopes he rebuilds some value.
Trading Correa or Peña seems even more far-fetched. “We’re not really trying to get out of the infield of the trade market simply because we feel like all those guys are going to be part of the top of our lineup,” Brown said overall. “I think they’ll all hit somewhere between 1 and 6. So I wouldn’t try to make any moves from the infield standpoint.” This general statement probably doesn’t apply to utility players Ramon Urias or Mauricio Dubonwho will earn $4.4 million and $5.8 million, respectively, in their final seasons of arbitration. The Astros could trade or non-tender either or both.
Brown spoke generally about the Astros bouncing players around the diamond to maximize rest opportunities for their veteran hitters. Correa has never played second base, although he could probably do so. A speculative option would be to give Correa semi-regular second base work on days when Paredes is in trouble. They will continue to have Altuve bounce between second base, left field and DH, while Alvarez splits time between DH and left field.
That adds up to an outfield that should feature a few changes. Houston traded for Jesus Sanchez to add a left-handed bat who could play right field down the stretch. Sánchez played terribly, hitting .199/.269/.349 with multiple defensive errors. He is expected to make an arbitration salary of $6.5 million and will be under club control for two seasons. Chandler Rome of The Athletic writes that the Astros are open to trade questions about Sánchez, though it seems more likely they won’t find any interest and simply won’t tender him before next Friday’s deadline.
That will likely leave the Astros looking for another left-handed outfielder. Rookies Zach Cole And Jacob Melton can play a role in this, but have a limited track record. Taylor Trammell is probably on the roster bubble. We’ll continue with Sánchez and add someone like Max Kepler, Carlo Mullins or Mike Yastrzemski in free choice would make sense.
Notably, Brown wouldn’t commit to a second-year outfielder Cam Smith broke camp in 2026. The former first-rounder, acquired alongside Paredes in the Tucker deal, hit .236/.312/.358 in 493 plate appearances as a rookie. It was hardly a disastrous outing for a player with such limited professional experience, and Smith played excellent right field despite being called up as a third baseman. Still, he struggled considerably in the second half (.154/.247/.242) and was able to get some work against Triple-A pitching.
“We saw glimpses of it last year, but we need him to be more consistent,” Brown said (via Rome). “I would think he’ll come back and try to play with more consistency and make the necessary adjustments, but we have to be open to sending him back to Triple-A if he hasn’t turned the corner. … There’s a lot to be said for guys working hard in the offseason and then making the necessary adjustments. We hope Cam does that. If he does, we’ll be excited.”
Optioning Smith would give the Astros the flexibility to pursue an everyday right fielder. Jake Meyers should be back as the main midfielder, although Rome reports that Houston has received quite a bit of trade interest in the 29-year-old. That’s to be expected, as Meyers is a plus defender who is having a career year. He hit .292/.354/.373 over 381 plate appearances with dramatically improved strike zone discipline. He is controllable for two more seasons and is projected at a bargain $3.5 million. It’s hard to imagine a Houston team already looking to trade Meyers outfielders, but it’s possible another club could try to force their hand by bringing a controllable starting pitcher to the table.
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