The Astros have seemingly had too many infielders all winter but general manager Dana Brown has consistently downplayed the possibility of a trade, doing so again this week. Privately, the club may be less certain about holding everyone. Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports that some people within the team are questioning the viability of carrying everyone on the roster and that a trade is becoming more realistic.
Last year, the Astros had Isaac Paredes at third base and Christian Walker at first, at least for the first half of the season. Paredes suffered a significant hamstring strain in July, which prompted the Astros to acquire Carlos Correa from the Twins. Going into 2026, they project to have Jeremy Peña at shortstop, Jose Altuve at second base, Correa at third and then either Walker or Paredes at first.
Putting Paredes at the keystone and using Altuve in the outfield is generally seen as less than ideal. Altuve was bad in the outfield last year. Paredes hasn’t played second base since 2023 and there’s skepticism about how viable he would be if put back there again, though the Astros will have him do some drills there during camp.
Most of the rumors have therefore involved the Astros trading either Walker or Paredes and having the other cover first base. Walker is coming off a bit of a down year and is owed $20MM annually for another two years, making him hard to trade, especially since he’s about to turn 35. Paredes would have value but his lower salary is appealing to an Astros club looking to limbo under the luxury tax. He’ll make $9.35MM this year, less than half of Walker. He’ll get a bump in 2027 but would still be well under Walker’s $20MM salary.
If a trade doesn’t come together, manager Joe Espada would be left to find playing time for everyone by scattering off-days around the group. Using the designated hitter spot will be a challenge because the club wants to have Yordan Alvarez in there as often as possible. Though Brown has downplayed the rumors over and over again, there’s still time for a trade to come together.
Rome also notes that the Astros plan to give Cam Smith some center field reps in spring training. Smith came up as a third baseman but the Astros moved him to right field last year so that he would have a better path to playing time. He earned a big league job and showed some promise but his .236/.312/.358 batting line was subpar.
The bar for passable offense is a bit lower in center field, where teams often prioritize defense. Smith graded out well in right field last year, getting credited with 12 Defensive Runs Saved and one above par by Outs Above Average. His sprint speed was ranked in the 95th percentile last year, so he should have the wheels to move to center. The Astros considered some center field time for Smith last year but he didn’t get any game time there.
If Smith can hack it up the middle, that could open up a few possibilities for the club. They have been looking to add a left-handed bat to the lineup and could perhaps slot someone into right field. They have Jesús Sánchez on the roster but he struggled late last year and has been in some trade rumors. Center fielder Jake Meyers has also been in trade rumors and perhaps the club could feel more comfortable pulling the trigger there if Smith seems viable in the middle spot.
Turning to the pitching staff, Espada noted this week that Lance McCullers Jr. would be built up a starter in camp, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. McCullers was a starter for most of last year but was moved to the bullpen in August. Injuries led to him missing the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He was back on the mound last year but his velocity was down and he posted a 6.51 earned run average on the year.
Whether he can turn things around and get back on track is anyone’s guess. He will be further removed from his lengthy injury odyssey but the results in 2025 weren’t encouraging. The Astros may have a six-man rotation for a decent amount of 2026. McCullers projects to be in there with Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, Tatsuya Imai, Mike Burrows and Ryan Weiss, with guys like Nate Pearson, Spencer Arrighetti, AJ Blubaugh, Miguel Ullola, Jason Alexander, Colton Gordon and Kai-Wei Teng also on the roster. Over the course of the season, Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski and Brandon Walter will be trying to come back from Tommy John surgeries performed in 2025. McCullers is going into the final season of the extension he signed in 2021 and will be paid $17MM this year.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
Gonna have to pay someone to take Christian Walker off their hands. Can’t carry him and Paredes with the DH slot very much taken.
Might as well just keep him for when Correa inevitably gets injured
Send him to the mets
We’ll trade Walker and Abreu to you for a few prospects and we eat 10M per year.
Astros are solid on their rotation, especially with a couple of the Tommy John boys coming back around the all star break. I think they should trade Jake Meyers and Christian Walker to have this starting lineup in no particular order:
– Paredes, Altuve, Pena, Correa, Diaz, Alvarez, Cole, Smith, Sanchez.
Gives them 3 left handed bats and have Nick Allen or Zack Dezenzo to be utility if any of those guys need day off or get hurt.
Nick Allen can play 2 positions. What utility!
Just speaking as a guy who saw the kid play but I find it hard to believe the Astros went out and got Correa back to play 3B when all they had to do was put Cam Smith where he belongs instead of trying to make him something he’s not. Now CF? Seriously? Maybe the reason his bat suffered was because they’re filling his head with butterflies moving him around in the OF. And now they’re complaining about the Tax. Huh Go figure.
What? Cam as a prospect was never considered a good defender at 3B. As an outfielder he was a gold glove finalist. His bat suffered because he jumped from college to the majors in one year. Weird take.
I hope the Pirates are in on Paredes. I wonder if a package where Password Garcia is the headliner would get it done.
Why would the Pirates trade Garcia for Paredes?
At this point Houston trading Paredes would be a salary dump and not a move to net a significant return
I think if they weren’t expecting a significant return, a trade would have already happened with the Red Sox.
They need outfield depth and the Pirates don’t necessarily need Password. Though I want to keep him, if he got us Paredes, I’d absolutely do it.
Stupid talk. They would rather use the logjam rather than dump Paredes.
If they can’t find a taker for Walker, just hold firm and find a way to make it work. I’d rather have an awkward positional fit than trade Paredes for anything less than an All-Star bat.
Paredes can get into 3 games a week at least as a starter apoearing at 1B/3B/DH. There is no immediate need to move him other than his salary
I really hope McCullers Jr. can bounce back. It’s his first healthy Offseason in a while, so that’s really good. I think Paredes best suitor is the Pirates now, and hopefully we can find a Walker taker. The Mets maybe? Good for Smith to learn center field so we can maybe trade Meyers again?
McCullers is pretty much toast. The Astros have to pay him for the ’26 season, but it’s dead money.
He’s either in the rotation or not on the roster.
Altuve in the outfield has never made sense to me. Let Peredes play third and let Correa back him up.
Paredes fits fine at 1B everyday.
Walker is a very expensive pinch hitter unless they can trade him.