In the span of one Monday morning, the Astros likely lost two potential suitors for the services of Isaac Paredes in the Pirates and the Red Sox, with Marcell Ozuna signing with the former and the latter trading for Caleb Durbin from the Brewers. Personally, I never thought Pittsburgh would’ve been the best landing spot for a hitter with Paredes’ profile, and they weren’t trading Oneil Cruz for him anyway. Other than Cruz, unless I am missing someone else in the minors, I don’t see another left-handed outfielder that fits arguably Houston’s most pressing need at the moment. Boston, however, matched up well in trade hypotheticals, with Wilyer Abreu and Jarren Duran fitting the Astros’ apparent desire for an outfielder who is also a left-handed hitter.
While other suitors probably remain, and a trade could still happen with the Pirates or Red Sox in the future, there’s also a possibility that the Astros enter and perhaps exit camp with Paredes still on the roster. Do I think that will happen? Honestly, no. Dana Brown appears intent on addressing this infield logjam, in some fashion. Trading Paredes, for as much I don’t want to see that, is the least complicated route. Odds are that a trade will eventually happen, even if it doesn’t materialize for a while. Alas, who knows for sure at this point? I certainly don’t.
But let’s say that the Astros, for one reason or another, decide to roll into Opening Day with Christian Walker, Jose Altuve, Jeremy Peña, Carlos Correa, and Paredes all on the roster. How would the organization manage the obvious playing time conumdrum that is staring them down? There are a few factors to consider.
Factor 1: Injuries
Frankly, I don’t expect the entire group of Walker, Altuve, Peña, Correa, and Paredes to be healthy all season long. The history doesn’t indicate that they will, although it isn’t a zero chance possibility. Only a low percentage probability. In any case, injuries to one or multiple would certainly remove the infield logjam issue, even if it is only a temporary arrangment.
With that said, much like how I didn’t prefer the plan to bank last season’s pitching staff on certain guys returning without any setbacks, I also don’t prefer this plan. Injuries are widely unpredictable. Yes, we can wonder if a pitcher will eventually see his arm break down, but, again, we don’t if or when that will occur. We also can’t predict position player injuries or their severity. Neither can teams. There are too many unknown variables at this time to adequately plan. It is one thing to have an insurance policy, like Nick Allen at shortstop in the event Peña is lost for any length of time. But you can’t necessarily plan to bench one of Paredes or Walker right now when their performance hasn’t dictated such a move is warranted, especially at their respective salaries, nearly a combined $30 million. For a team trying to win now, an inefficient allocation of resources complicating whether one of your best hitters in Paredes plays or not isn’t adviseable. Banking on injuries to help solve this problem isn’t wise roster management in my opinion.
And the only way first base is open depends on Walker’s production and health. Keep in mind that Walker has played at least 130 games in each of the four seasons, with only a left oblique injury keeping him out of action for a month in 2024. In the other three seasons (2022, 2023, and 2025), the veteran slugger appeared in 160, 157, and 154 games respectively. So, I wouldn’t count on a long absence through injury for Walker based on his recent history, although that trend isn’t a guarantee to continue.
Factor 2: Money
For someone like Walker, who already has that lucrative contract, the money isn’t so much a concern for him at present. But for Paredes, who is earning $9.350 million this upcoming season, you could safely assume that his potential earnings past this season is on his mind. In fact, he has one more round of arbitration next offseason, with the current CBA expriring also looming. Cutting back his playing time simply due to an infield logjam is an untenable situation for a player at this stage of his career.
And the only way that the Astros are benching Walker, who has a $20 million AAV this year and next, is if his performance warrants such a move. We’ve seen that situation play out with José Abreu in the past, but it took an utter nosedive in his production as a hitter to see that happen. Walker, for all of his struggles last season, did bounce back somewhat in the second half and still offers noticeably better defense than Abreu ever did. But that situation also required Abreu’s willingness to step aside before he was ultimately released. I can’t speak for what Walker would or wouldn’t do in a similar situation. Walker, if he remains on the teams for 2026, will play until something forces the organization’s hand. Regarding the rest of the infield, we already know that this team isn’t benching Altuve or Correa anytime soon with their respective salaries unless injuries are involved. That’s just not happening, other than injuries.
Factor 3: Positional Flexibility Or Lack Thereof
One path to open up more playing time for Paredes could be to using Yordan Alvarez more in left field, especially at Daikin Park. That decision, in theory, would open up more playing time at designated hitter. It would certainly allow Espada to use his best lineup more often. But there are limitations with this plan, namely the club’s commitment to keeping Alvarez as healthy as possible, which means, to them, less playing time in the outfield. It is interesting to note that Alvarez’s recent injuries have all occurred as a hitter or a baserunner, but I can appreciate the justification in this case. Plus, Alvarez has had surgery on both knees back in 2020, so that has to be a concern for the Astros as well as he continues to age.
There’s also matchup concerns. The pitching staff looks to be less reliant on the ground ball with Framber Valdez now with the Tigers. Expect a higher rate of fly balls, in other words. Alvarez is capable of surprising people in the outfield upon occasion. However, the club likely doesn’t want Alvarez out there tracking numerous fly balls, especially in the more spacious outfields. On the road, minus another park or two, it likely isn’t adviseable to have Alvarez patrolling left field on a regular basis. You could only realistically play him even semi-regularly in left field at Daikin Park to help mitigate any defensive lapses and injury concerns. While the infield logjam would be alleviated on the days that he would in theory start in left field with Paredes as the designated hitter, it wouldn’t entirely remove the issue.
Other than first and third base, there isn’t really a position that Paredes could realistically play without some fairly significant defensive misgivings. Correa isn’t moving off third base as long as Peña is healthy. Plus, it seems like Allen will be the primary backup at shortstop in any case. I don’t believe second base is a viable option with Paredes’ limited lateral quickness. There is a reason why he was moved off of shortstop years ago and I don’t see him playing second base would be any better. Not to mention that Joe Espada has been clear that Altuve will be the primary starter at the position for 2026.
The Astros could proceed with a musical chair type of plan if Paredes remains on the roster, implementing an infield rotation of some sort, utilizing designated hitter as further flexibility upon occasion. Do enough juggling and you might be able to make such an arrangement somewhat tolerable. But is the juice worth the squeeze? Probably not.
Ultimately, as much as I like Paredes’ bat in this lineup, the best course of action from a roster management viewpoint would be to trade him, preferably to shore up the outfield. Trading Walker, even if you have to absorb the majority of his future salary, would offer another solution, albeit one that might leave the outfield increasingly unsettled. But the current arrangement for the infield continues to appear untenable, especially throughout the course of a full season.
Photo courtesy of Pixel Pete
Paredes health concerns may be the issue.
Shitcan Walker fire him into the sun, throw him to the chas pile