The Houston Astros are struggling through a 17-27 start to 2026, with injuries and pitching woes leaving them well outside playoff contention. While there’s still time to turn things around, the club might face some difficult decisions if they’re still out of the race come the August 3rd trade deadline.
Dayn Perry of CBS Sports identified several Astros who could be moved, including an intriguing possibility involving Jeremy Peña. Perry draws a comparison to Houston’s 2024 trade of Kyle Tucker.
“You’ll recall that in December of 2024, the Astros traded away Kyle Tucker with a full year of arbitration eligibility remaining. This would be a similar situation, except the acquiring team would be paying to also get Pena for the stretch drive and postseason prior to that full final year of control.”
That’s an interesting parallel. Tucker brought back a solid return despite having just one year of team control left, and Peña’s situation mirrors that timeline.
Here’s what makes this compelling: Peña remains under club control through 2027, giving an acquiring team both a rental for this year’s playoff push and a full season beyond that. For contenders looking to upgrade at shortstop, that’s an attractive package.
The Astros obviously don’t want to trade core pieces, but if the season continues spiraling, moving players before they hit free agency makes sense. Even someone like Peña, who’s got another year of team control, becomes worth exploring in trade talks.
Of course, Peña needs to return from injury and play well to generate that kind of interest. But when he’s healthy, he’s shown he can handle shortstop defensively while providing solid offensive production.
A defensive shortstop with upside at the plate? That’s exactly what contending teams covet, especially at baseball’s most premium infield position.
If Houston could replicate even part of what they got for Tucker – though Peña likely won’t command quite that level of return – it’d be worth considering. The way this season’s going, the Astros might need to get creative about restocking their system while they still can.
