Jeremy Pena Becoming Prime Trade Candidate; 5 Teams Linked by Insider
The Houston Astros won't be in their usual spot at the top of the AL West this season. It's time to rebuild the farm system and to do that, surrender some key pieces of their lineup.
According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, a trade of shortstop Jeremy Pena seems like an inevitability.
His changing of agents last year to Scott Boras pretty much sealed his fate as a future former-Astro. It puts Pena in the same position that Kyle Tucker was in two offseasons ago. And we know what happened there. It was Bye-bye, Kyle.
"Replenishing a bad farm system with few players close to the big leagues takes a move like trading Pena," writes Passan, "and the only question at this point is whether it will be before Aug. 3 or before the Dec. 1 lockout."
Pena brings power & speed, plus strong defensive play at short.
Passan lists 5 teams that would be the best fits to trade for Pena, and it includes almost the entire American League East:
- Toronto Blue Jays
- New York Yankees
- Boston Red Sox
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Atlanta Braves
The Blue Jays have one of the strongest defensive players around handling shortstop for them this season in Andres Gimenez. And while he's driven in some big runs with some big hits this season, he'll never be mistaken for Pena at the plate as a long-term solution.
The Yankees have had a shortstop problem for a couple of years now. Injuries have hurt Anthony Volpe's defensive metrics, and his hitting has always had plenty of holes in it, despite his ability to hit home runs at a decent rate. But a career .224/.287/.378 slash line with a .665 OPS just isn't getting it done with the Bronx Bombers, and Pena seems like a terrific fit there instead, fully able to handle the big stage of Yankee Stadium.
The Red Sox also have a shortstop issue, with Trevor Story out for a couple more months, and vastly underperforming in all but one of his five years in Boston on a massive $140M contract. There's only one year to run after this one, and the Red Sox need to find a future at short.
The Rays would have the prospects that the Astros would want, and they, too, could use a big upgrade at shortstop.
Over in the NL East, the Braves have been searching for an answer at short ever since Dansby Swanson left after the 2022 season. This seems like a great fit for both sides.
