In the comment section of our last post, a friend of the blog, Steven, wrote a detailed comment on what he would do with the Astros if he were the GM. Our other friend of the blog, Sarge, recognized this as a great topic for our next post, and here we are.
You can go back to the last post and read the whole of Steven’s comment or you can read this long excerpt….
- “Move 1 – I’m trading Yordan Alvarez to the San Diego Padres for Kash Mayfield, Ethan Salas and Jose Espada. The last is throw in because of how I plan on treating the 8th spot in the pen and I really want Joe Espada to call for Joe Espada out of the pen. This is to clear the DH spot for Altuve and salary relief. We won 87 games last year basically without him.
- Move 2 – I’m trading Isaac Paredes, Steven Okert and Walter Janek to the Red Sox for Wilyer Abreu and Connor Early. So please Arizona give Breggy what he wants, take him in, and create need.
- Move 3 – I’m going to assume the guys from the podcast are right and the Tigers will indeed give me Eduardo Valencia for Jesus Sanchez.
- Move 4 – Cristian Javier to the Giants for Luis Matos. This is mostly a salary dump.
- Move 5 – After freeing up a bunch of money, I am giving Kyle Tucker 10/350, not for nostalgia but because I really think he is what this lineup needs the most and I believe he will be more durable than most going forward.
- Move 6 – Brice Matthews, Spencer Arrighetti, AJ Blubaugh and Jake Meyers to the Cards for Brendan Donovan and Jose Fermin.
- Move 7 – re-sign Caratini. Or just live with Valencia and Salazar, but there is depth with Caratini being signed.
My lineup – SS Pena, 2B Donovan, RF Tucker, 3B Correa, LF Abreu, 1B Walker, DH Altuve, C Diaz, CF Smith. Three lefties. Altuve out of the field. Dezenzo makes this squad and sees plenty of playing time between all 4 corners. Fermin gives you a great option in case of significant playing time needed in the infield due to his walk rate, or Allen can make the roster as a defensive guy. Matos should find at bats with this outfield, and Caratini goes back to doing what he does, a lefty bat that catches a bit, DH’s a bit, plays a little first, and gives us an experienced pinch hitter that we’ve seen handle the role in the past.
You’ve still got Cole, Valencia, Salazar, Trammell, Whitcomb, Allen or Fermin, stored at AAA.
My rotation – Brown, Imai, Burrows, Weiss, Early, and (ugh) LMJ to start. LMJ will get those first 5 starts while they are in a six-man to prove his worth. Alexander makes the pen as the swing/long man. Of course, I’ve got Hader, Abreu, and King, joined by Sousa and De Los Santos. The last two slots are open competition, but will be a shuttle that includes Pearson, Roa, Munoz, Ullola, Murray, Gordon, France, Espada, based on what the team needs, and they all have options. The only issue on the bullpen swing between Daikan and Constellation is the 40-man, where two of those guys are going to start off it, presumably Pearson and Roa, since they are on minor league deals already.”
So, your assignment, for whatever depth you wish to go, is to outline what moves you would make if you were GM for a day (or however long it would take.
Steven – since you already did this assignment – if you wish to do something else, you are welcome to critique the other folks or perhaps tell us what you would do if you were Jim Crane for a day or so.
Thanks, folks, ahead of time.
ALL THINGS ASTROS 
19 responses to “Astros’ 2026: If you were GM for a day…”
Chip Bailey just texted me that Alex Bregman just signed with the Cubs – 5 yrs/ $175 million – no trade clause and no opt outs
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That’s a scary contract. This probably puts Tucker in either LA or NY, right?
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Okay Steven, you can put your plan into action.
The Cubs must have felt pressure to do something big. Are they going to shock MLB and also give Tucker ten years? I doubt it. We were watching Bregman here in Houston just a year plus ago. The eye check told me he was aging. The injury in 2025 took a lot out of him. His second half stats in Boston were pedestrian at best. And do you know he hit just six homers in Fenway last year? The Red Sox did the right thing. The Cubs made a mistake.
But, now the Sox do have to decide what to do at third base. We should find out pretty soon. Bichette is being tossed around. Suarez might come in for three years for much less money and much less risk than a five year Bregman deal. And then there is Paredes. Thing is, Boston might prefer to sign a free agent rather than giving up talent for Isaac. At least now, there should be some movement happening, giving us something to talk about.
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If Dan P were GM….
Move 1 – I’d see if I could trade Correa to the Red Sox instead of Paredes. It would not bring as much in return, but it certainly would open up a spot in the crowded infield.
Non-Move 2 – I would hold onto Yordan for another cycle. You have him signed through 2028 – see if you can get a healthy season out of him in 2026 – if he is healthy all season he is a bargain.
Move 3 – Yes, send Sanchez for the prospect or two from the Tigers.
Move 4 – Send Hunter Brown out for……OK, just kidding there, though I wonder what kind of haul you could get for him at his low price high production spot. Instead – look at trading Josh Hader. I just see the BIG ONE (surgery) coming with him and if you can convince someone he is healthy now – you could get younger and cheaper – pick up OF help for him and maybe a prospect pitcher.
Move 5 – See if you can pick up Devin Williams on the rebound to lead your bullpen – mlbtraderumors had a blurb about why they think he could be set for a big rebound after uncharacteristic season in New York
Move 6 – Fire Dan P as your GM and get someone who knows what they are doing
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OK – just found where Devin Williams signed with the Mets – ok screw that move and don’t trade Hader?
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Heck of an idea Dan to trade Correa to the Redsox. Of course we’d probably have to eat 10MM of his salary for the next three years. Then we could sign Paredes for a five year deal. Corrrea, Altuve, Walker, and Hader are the Albatrosses around our neck. Don’t know a lot about Sanchez but form looking at his stats I’d unload him too. We better be looking for a future 1st baseman to draft as our last 2 signings have been pretty stinky if you know what I mean. If we can’t extend Pena for a reasonable amount it’s time to trade him next year. Keeping players into their mid 30’s is pretty much a losing proposition based on cost and decreasing performance. Time to change our philosophy here.
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I guess it is part of my “trade anybody but Paredes” attitude. We might get some good years out of Correa if he stays but we might get stuck with a guy who misses too many games and has an expensive option that might kick in to his contract.
Just remember that Paredes is controllable for only 2026 and 2027 and had the hamstring problem last season that we don’t know whether it is healed.
Unfortunately, I don’t trust our medical staff to know whether and when it is healed either…..
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Some sad news for older Astro news – but a long life….
Dave Giusti Passes Away – MLB Trade Rumors
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As I was watching hours of NFL football yesterday, I also scrolled through hundreds of comments on Over the Monster, the Red Sox blog. I was surprised that Correa was not mentioned once and Paredes showed up just twice briefly. As Correa evidently has a full no trade clause, not seeing him made some sense. But whether or not Sox fans know it, Paredes should at least be on their radar. Eugenio Suarez is. Bo Bichette is. Bichette is a DH waiting to happen. Maybe they’d rather get Suarez via FA than give up young talent for Paredes.
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The Steelers are not a very good team. Our QB kept them in it. I don’t care how good our defense is, Stroud has to refind his composure or the trip Foxboro will be a waste and result in another early exit from the playoffs.
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I tried to keep my GM to do list grounded in reality. Trading Correa isn’t reality. Back in 2021 my youngest was 11, and I had a 2017 Honda Ridgeline. That thing was giving me all kinds of problems from constantly getting the AC/heating fixed to electrical issues to having the plugs changed out twice that I was done. All kinds of issues. But he loved that truck because it was fully loaded and extremely comfortable to an 11 year old, and the one I got in its place wasn’t near as roomy.
That’s Correa, all shiny, big name, fans love him, but Paredes is the 2021 Dodge Ram I got, more stable, functional, works better for my family. Even if my family doesn’t see it. Of course, I want to keep the Dodge and kick the Ridgeline to the curb. But I’m not sure how many 11 year olds are in the Astros front office, or out in the fandom. Enough that the PR disaster from even approaching Correa and his fragile ego about waving his no trade clause probably isn’t worth it to Crane, who he himself might be against.
Besides, Paredes actually brings you a return, Correa is just trying to get someone else to take Minnesota’s bad contract.
I heard Rome and Stafford with Josh Reddick on the Crush City podcast yesterday talking about the possibility. In their minds, the trade to make is Jarren Duran for Isaac Paredes. They were all in agreement that we would have to probably put a little more in. Duran is a career .267/.328/.452 guy at 29, Paredes is .237/.337/.429 at 26. Duran seems a little bit better, but he has had his age 26-29 seasons, typically a best for hitters. Between those two, I’m taking Paredes. Realistically it doesn’t seem bad straight up, the Red Sox need Paredes at 3B, we need the lefty Duran in LF. They need Paredes to bat 6th, we need Duran to bat 2nd. Duran has 3 years of team control, Paredes has 2. My whole point is the target is Early, not Duran. They mentioned Early, but said Early was a target before the acquisitions of Weiss, Burrows and Imai. Now that the staff is stable, Duran seemed a better target than Abreu. Interesting takes.
However it shakes out, more and more seemed convince using Isaac Paredes to fix LF is the best solution. I would ask, is it to much to ask, to teach Isaac to play LF? If Carlos Lee can play in LF in Daikan, can’t anyone?
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I think Paredes is the only guy we’ve got that can bring us the reliable left handed bat we need. I’d hate to lose Isaac, but I see no other options. Hopefully though, Dana is much smarter than me and does something positive that I have not considered.
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The numbers that matter to me are .332 (Duran), .355 (Correa), and .352 (Paredes). If you’re moving Paredes for Duran it should be to put him in CF. Boston has enough OF right now and an angry fanbase. Sending anything or anyone on top of Paredes in such a deal is an overpay. For the on the field stuff I’d rather have Paredes at $10M than Bregman at $30M + deferred money and any future years. They probably come out on top in the overall exchange. I disagree about the podcast assessment on our pitching staff. I think Early’s ability to miss bats is what you need in September/October. Getting him and being able to carefully limit his innings would strongly position us for a run late in the year. I seriously doubt they’d give him up in a trade, but I’m listening…
But I say that because just like Jim Crane, I really like Carlos Correa. I really liked him leaving for Minnesota so we weren’t paying him crazy money. It’s still more than I want to spend, but I feel better about them giving him $20M to play 3B than I do about Pena getting $10M to play SS this year. Pena just posted an .363 OBP and plays the most important position on defense and I’m complaining about it? Yeah, I’ve been known to be wrong about things, but my opinion is he has to maintain that production and stay healthy. If he falls back to the .308 of 2024 we are now faced with the question of whether it would have made more sense to trade Pena and keep Dubon.
I think a lot of this comes down to Paredes and how close his body actually is to the 5’11” 213lbs he is listed at. If those numbers are accurate there should be no reason he can’t play the first 7 innings at 2B making the routine plays and not sweating the balls getting to the outfield on what would be the exceptional. Likewise, LF shouldn’t be an issue. He doesn’t need to win a gold glove…just prevent runners from taking extra bases and make the routine plays. Keeping him and trying those positions gives you the option of trying him at 1B or moving him in July if Walker can’t bounce back or the team has spiraled out of contention.
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I don’t know why there is still discussion about Paredes playing second base for the Astros. Unless Yordan goes out to left field, that seems to be a moot point. Jose Altuve is our second baseman. But I do think there are worse places Paredes could go on the field. One would be left field.
With the exception of having to live with Altuve on the infield as long as Yordan is with the club, we’ve really got to maintain above average defense in every position possible. Our suspect pitching staff needs a solid defense behind it. Our outfield is bad with a makeshift left fielder in left field. Yordan and Altuve have already proven that. We need solid guys at the plate that will also run down balls in the outfield and show an arm. Right now, we don’t have that combination at left, center or right.
Carlos Correa is in decline. Maybe Paredes will blow out the hamstring again. Jim Crane is the best owner we’ve ever had. But bringing Correa back did not help us going forward. Just like Abreu. Just like Walker. Full disclosure; I was in favor of both first base acquisitions. It just goes to show that both fans and owners/GM’s make the same mistakes. And I might be wrong about Correa too. That would be helpful.
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I’m trying to find a way to get Altuve, Paredes, and Correa into the lineup as many times as possible over the 162 game season. Even if you expect Paredes to go to LF 120+ times a year, he played all four infield positions in Tampa. He has never played OF in an MLB or MiLB game. So why are we talking about him playing somewhere he’s never played while discounting the options of positions he has already played? You better have a fallback option if putting him out there fails.
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Devin, without Divine Intervention in the form of a miraculous trade of Christian Walker, the only way to keep Altuve, Correa and Paredes in the lineup as many times as possible is to move one of them to a different lineup. Unfortunately, Isaac gets the small straw. Like everyone else, I sure want him in our lineup. But I’m resigned.
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…and if all your trading partners feel the same way then we’re going to be selling him for $.75 on the dollar. Here’s my thinking, though:
1B Walker (120) Paredes (42)
2B Altuve (120) Paredes (42)
SS Pena (140) Correa (22)
3B Correa (120) Paredes (42)
LF Paredes (X) Altuve (Y) Other (Z)
DH Alvarez (120+) Other (???)
If Correa doesn’t want to take any games at SS then it would fall to Matthews/Allen. Walker probably wants more than 120 starts at 1B, but this is a target. We can’t assume everyone will be healthy all year, but you start with all three of the guys I mentioned getting 120+ starts right off the bat. Last year Altuve played 155 and Walker 154 games. Diaz had 143, Cam 134, and Dubon 133. Not all of those were starts. This all goes out the window if they somehow find a better candidate than TBD to play LF.
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The last paragraph was a little tongue in cheek, you just can’t see the tongue in the cheek while I’m typing.
Paredes is a third baseman that could probably learn to play 1B at this point. I don’t see him as anything else. I don’t get a vote, but I think for once the Astros agree with me. Hamstring tears, and his was off the bone, are tricky and can nag for a few years. Every time he hits a grounder and breaks into a full sprint I’m going to hold my breath. I certainly don’t want him chasing fly balls into the crawford corners.
No, in the end I’m resigned to the fact that he will probably not be here on opening because we already a DH, and we have a third baseman and a first baseman that for different reasons can’t really be traded. If Walker finishes the year with a .237 average, average OBP and hits 25-30 HR again, well its almost the best we can hope for. What would be real helpful is he isn’t batting 4th or 5th. Correa playing 140 games and providing some OBP would also be helpful. The rest is probably past him.
But I agree Devin, Early should have always been the target, even if it ended up us having to throw in some low level prospect. Early is ready now, gives you a lefty in the rotation, and, as you pointed out, a lefty that can make people miss bats in the playoff whether its a starter or bullpen role.
My issue with losing Paredes isn’t a batting average or homerun thing. It’s extending at bats. If we could get 4 or 5 guys that just extend at bats, sometimes you can get to low leverage relievers in the 6th and have a real opportunity at damage. Paredes helps you do that, but Correa does to, so will a healthy Yordan, heck Jake Meyers can extend an at bat too as well as Cam when he is playing well. But Pena, Altuve, Sanchez, Walker, (especially) Diaz, these guys are not forcing pitches. Its OK to have a one or two of those in the lineup, but they don’t belong together or bunched up. We just played too many games last year where we made it to easy on the starter. The Astros were one of four teams that saw under 23k pitches last year, and the three that saw less are not franchises we want to be compared too.
So yes, I am against trading Isaac. But I also see the reality of the situation, he has no where to play, even if I recognize its really that Honda Ridgeline named Carlos Correa that should be the one with no where to play.
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The Mets have apparently offered Tucker a short-term deal with a $50 million/AAV. Toronto has offered a longer-term deal, but no terms have been released.
Tuck turns 29 this week and he’s believed to be close to a decision, which could then create a domino effect for other players.
Sorry Dan, no mention as Houston in any rumors…looks like LA, NY or Toronto.
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