Astros Notes: Outfield, Rotation, Pearson
The Astros spent most of the offseason looking to add a left-handed hitting outfielder. That hasn’t materialized with three weeks to go before the start of the regular season. General manager Dana Brown suggested the team was still hopeful of making such an acquisition after swapping Jesús Sánchez to Toronto for Joey Loperfido in the middle of February.
An external addition before Opening Day becomes less likely with every day that passes. Nevertheless, manager Joe Espada declined to name starters at any of the three outfield positions over the weekend (link via Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle).
“I’m not ready to say that,” Espada said. “Obviously, we know what Jake Meyers can do in center, I feel really good about that. I feel really good about what Cam Smith can do in right. Zach Cole and the rest of those guys can play all three. But when it comes to who’s in there day one, not there yet.”
On paper, Meyers feels like the safest bet to play every day. He’s a plus defender in center field and is coming off his best season at the plate. The 29-year-old hit .292/.354/.373 with 16 stolen bases and a career-low 17.6% strikeout rate. A right calf strain bothered him during the second half and kept him to just under 400 plate appearances.
Cole and Smith are much less established. The former debuted in September and popped four home runs in his first 15 games. He also struck out 20 times in 52 plate appearances after fanning at a 35% clip in Triple-A. It’s tough to see that profile working over a larger sample unless he makes far more consistent contact.
Smith, a top prospect acquired in the Kyle Tucker trade, hit well for a few months before his numbers cratered in the second half. Smith’s upper minors experience before his promotion consisted of five games at Double-A. It’s impressive that he was able to keep his head above water in the big leagues with such little work against higher level pitching, but he should probably open this season in Triple-A. That’d be easier for the Astros to sort out if they’re able to acquire a veteran corner outfield bat.
Along with the outfield, the back end of the rotation has some uncertainty. Houston added a pair of mid-rotation hopefuls in Tatsuya Imai and Mike Burrows to slot behind Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier. The Astros are planning to begin the season with a six-man rotation. They only have two scheduled off days within the first 28 days. Most teams that sign a high-profile pitcher from Japan also prefer to use a six-man rotation to match the once a week schedule on which NPB starters are used.
The Astros took one-year fliers on Ryan Weiss and Nate Pearson to compete with internal options Lance McCullers Jr., AJ Blubaugh, Spencer Arrighetti and Jason Alexander for the final two jobs. Pearson is out of options and needs to be on the MLB roster in some capacity or exposed to waivers. It looks like he’ll be forced to begin the season on the 15-day injured list, however.
Espada said this afternoon that Pearson has slowed down his throwing program due to elbow soreness (relayed by Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). Pearson, who underwent a cleanup surgery on his elbow over the offseason, had been throwing bullpen sessions. He hasn’t gotten into a Grapefruit League game.
Astros Notes: Paredes, Walker, Smith, McCullers
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
Astros GM: “No Interest” In Trading Isaac Paredes
The Astros appear to have something of a corner infield logjam. They acquired Carlos Correa at the deadline, and Jeremy Peña’s presence meant Correa needed to move to third base. That made sense while Isaac Paredes was injured but is a tougher fit if everyone is healthy. The Astros have Christian Walker signed for two more seasons at first base. Yordan Alvarez remains the primary designated hitter, and the Astros would probably welcome the opportunity to get Jose Altuve more DH at-bats if they could find them.
Based on that glut of corner bats, there’s been speculation about the Astros trading an infielder this offseason. Most of that has revolved around Paredes or Walker, but general manager Dana Brown downplayed the idea that the Astros were looking to move either player. That’s particularly true of Paredes, who turned in a .254/.352/.458 line with 20 homers in 102 games during his first season in Houston.
“He was one of the best guys at seeing pitches and working counts and it’s one of the reasons why we went out and traded for him,” Brown told reporters at the GM Meetings on Wednesday (link via Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle). “We need that value in our lineup. It’s the exact direction we’re trying to take it. We feel like if we trade him it would be weakening our lineup. So right now, we have no interest in trading him.”
Paredes was the centerpiece of the Kyle Tucker return from the Cubs. He ranked fifth on the team in on-base percentage and tied for third in homers despite missing most of the second half with a significant strain of his right hamstring. Paredes returned late in the season but was limited to DH work. Brown said he’s currently at roughly 65% health and will “potentially” be available for Opening Day (via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com).
The 26-year-old’s swing is geared for pull-side pop that makes him an ideal fit in Houston’s Daikin Park, where the Crawford Boxes leave a short porch in left field. The two-time All-Star was an accomplished hitter with the Rays, so it’s not as if he’s only a product of the park, but he’s perfectly tailored even for a lineup that skews very heavily to the right side.
MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Paredes for a $9.3MM arbitration salary. He’ll go through that process once more before hitting free agency during the 2027-28 offseason. There’d be significant interest if the Astros did decide to shop him, likely for starting pitching, but they’re clearly proceeding as if he’ll be in their lineup. Brown said the Astros are not considering him for a regular role at second base, so he’ll be back mostly in the corners.
While that’d seemingly point in the direction of a Walker trade, the GM indicated that’s not currently under consideration either. “We haven’t talked about Walker in a trade. Walker’s our everyday first baseman,” Brown said. He’s in a much different spot from Paredes. He’s signed for $20MM annually for his age 35-36 seasons. Walker had a team-leading 27 homers this year, but he hit .238 with a career-worst .297 on-base percentage. The three-time Gold Glove winner also posted uncharacteristically middling defensive grades. Baseball Reference felt he was right around replacement level overall, while FanGraphs had him at one WAR.
That’s not the kind of season that would net Walker $20MM per season on a multi-year deal if he were a free agent. The Astros might need to eat around half the money just to move him for a middling return. That would open first base for Paredes and reallocate a bit of payroll room for rotation adds, yet it’d leave them with more dead money on a first baseman right as the José Abreu contract finally comes off the books. The Astros could value Walker’s power and defensive reputation enough to hold him in hope that he rebuilds some value.
Trading Correa or Peña seems even more far-fetched. “We’re not really trying to pull from the infield in the trade market, simply because we feel like all those guys are going to be part of the top of our lineup,” Brown said generally. “I think they’re all going to hit somewhere between 1 and 6. So I wouldn’t try to make any moves from the infield standpoint.” That blanket statement probably doesn’t apply to utility players Ramón Urías or Mauricio Dubón, who are respectively projected for $4.4MM and $5.8MM in their final seasons of arbitration. The Astros could trade or non-tender either or both.
Brown spoke generally about the Astros bouncing players around the diamond to maximize rest opportunities for their veteran hitters. Correa has never played second base, though he’d presumably be capable of doing so. One speculative option would be to get Correa semi-regular second base work on days when Paredes is at the hot corner. They’ll have Altuve continue bouncing between second base, left field and DH with Alvarez splitting time between DH and left.
That carries into an outfield that should feature a couple changes. Houston traded for Jesús Sánchez to add a left-handed bat who could play right field down the stretch. Sánchez played terribly, batting .199/.269/.349 with multiple defensive lapses. He’s projected at a $6.5MM arbitration salary and under club control for two seasons. Chandler Rome of The Athletic writes that the Astros are open to trade inquiries on Sánchez, though it seems more likely they won’t find interest and will simply non-tender him at next Friday’s deadline.
That’ll likely leave the Astros in search of another left-handed hitting outfielder. Rookies Zach Cole and Jacob Melton could factor in but have limited track records. Taylor Trammell is probably on the roster bubble. Moving on from Sánchez and adding someone like Max Kepler, Cedric Mullins or Mike Yastrzemski in free agency would make sense.
Notably, Brown would not commit to second-year outfielder Cam Smith breaking camp in 2026. The former first-rounder, acquired alongside Paredes in the Tucker deal, hit .236/.312/.358 across 493 plate appearances as a rookie. It was hardly a disastrous showing for a player with such limited professional experience, and Smith played an excellent right field despite being drafted as a third baseman. Yet he struggled significantly in the second half (.154/.247/.242) and could be due for a look against Triple-A pitching.
“We saw glimpses of it last year, but we’re going to need him to be more consistent,” Brown said (via Rome). “I would think he comes back and tries to play with more consistency and makes the necessary adjustments, but we have to be open to sending him back to Triple-A if he hasn’t turned the corner. … There’s a lot to be said for guys that work hard in the offseason and then make the necessary adjustments. We’re hoping that Cam does that. If he does that, we’ll be excited.”
Optioning Smith would give the Astros the flexibility to pursue an everyday right fielder. Jake Meyers should be back as the primary center fielder, though Rome reports that Houston has received a fair bit of trade interest in the 29-year-old. That’s to be expected, as Meyers is a plus defender who is coming off a career year at the plate. He hit .292/.354/.373 over 381 plate appearances with dramatically improved strike zone discipline. He’s controllable for another two seasons and projected at a bargain $3.5MM rate. It’s difficult to envision a Houston team already looking for outfielders trading Meyers, but it’s possible another club tries to force their hand by putting a controllable starting pitcher on the table.
Astros Notes: Peña, Matthews, Smith
The Astros placed star shortstop Jeremy Peña on the injured list due to a fractured rib, leaving them without their team’s most valuable player for at least a period of 10 days. A firm timetable for Peña’s return wasn’t provided by the team, and based on general manager Dana Brown’s comments regarding the injury, it sounds as though the club is taking an optimistic approach but doesn’t have a concrete idea of just how long he’ll be sidelined.
Via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, Brown called Peña’s injury a “pain tolerance thing” and left a rather open-ended window when discussing his shortstop’s potential return date. “If he feels like he’s fine after a week, we’ll start some baseball activity,” said Brown. “We can give him some things to do, and he might be able to play through it as it heals.”
Brown noted that there’s still a good bit of inflammation at the site of the fracture, but if that clears up in a timely manner, it’s possible Peña could return “soon after the 10 days” — provided he can tolerate the discomfort. Of course, there are plenty of factors to consider. Swinging with a fractured rib would presumably impact Peña’s productivity at the plate, and the prospect of him laying out for a grounder at shortstop or taking another errant pitch off the ribs could exacerbate the matter. There’s also no telling when the inflammation will calm down and he’ll feel well enough to swing; Peña was originally plunked on Friday night and missed the next two games due to ongoing pain before follow-up MRI and CT scans revealed a fracture that initial x-rays failed to detect.
Now that Peña is out for at least a short spell, Leah Vann of Chron.com argues that the Astros ought to take their first big league look at 2023 first-rounder Brice Matthews. With utilityman Mauricio Dubón likely to slide over to shortstop, an already weak point in the lineup (second base) could become that much more compromised. Matthews has played 52 of his 67 games this season at second base and turned in a robust .285/.403/.492 batting line (135 wRC+) in 298 Triple-A plate appearances.
Houston doesn’t need to protect Matthews from the Rule 5 Draft before the 2026-27 offseason. Selecting him to the 40-man roster more than a year prior to that point runs the risk of prematurely burning through some of his option years. However, given his production at the top minor league level, Matthews is making a clear case for a promotion, and if the Astros are confident he’s going to be in the majors for the long haul anyway, concern over those option years would be rendered moot. It’s possible Houston trades for a veteran second baseman, but talks along those lines — not just for the Astros but for the whole league — probably won’t pick up in earnest until later this month.
With both Peña and Yordan Alvarez sidelined, Houston’s lineup is missing two of its most talented hitters. They’ll need to rely more heavily on the rest of the bats for the time being, including touted rookie Cam Smith. Smith has been on absolute fire at the plate lately, slashing .367/.433/.617 over his past 16 games. As he’s heated up, he’s also climbed the batting order. Smith was batting seventh, eighth and ninth for much of May but has been plugged into the fourth or fifth spot in the lineup each game since June 19.
The Astros are bullish on Smith’s ability to be a fixture in their long-term lineup, of course, and the manner in which he’s taken to right field from a defensive standpoint only bolsters that optimism. A former third baseman, Smith is learning right field on the fly, but Brown said on the Astros’ pregame radio show this week that even dating back to the draft, he believed Smith would benefit from a move off third base and into the outfield.
“I didn’t feel like, as a scout evaluating him, that he was going to be this piece at third base,” Brown said (via Chandler Rome of The Athletic). Brown personally scouted Smith on multiple occasions despite knowing he had no real chance to fall all the way to the Astros at No. 28. Those in-person looks paid off when the Kyle Tucker trade discussions began with the Cubs, however, and once the Astros pried Smith loose, Brown recalled advising his staff: “I don’t feel we took this guy for him to play third base, my vision for him is right field.”
Smith has taken to right field like a duck to water. He’s made just two errors in 597 innings at the position while generating a whopping +9 Defensive Runs Saved and +4 Outs Above Average. Statcast pegs Smith’s range in the 91st percentile of big league outfielders and credits him with 82nd-percentile arm strength. There’s still some learning to do when it comes to throwing, as Statcast actually grades his throwing as a negative despite that plus arm strength — likely a reflection of Smith still honing his accuracy on those lengthier throws and on developing instincts for hitting the cutoff man, throwing to the proper base, etc. For a converted infielder, however, the plus range, sure hands and strong arm set the foundation for a Gold Glove ceiling.
Unsurprisingly, Rome suggests that Smith’s long-term home is in right field and that there’s no infield return planned. With Isaac Paredes hitting well and controlled two more seasons beyond the current campaign, that seemed like a given anyhow, but Brown’s comments only further reinforce that long-term outlook for Smith.
Astros Considering Time In Center Field For Cam Smith
The Astros are considering some time in center field for Cam Smith, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Rome points out that nothing is imminent and that the club isn’t planning on making Smith an everyday center fielder. It’s more about adding some extra versatility, giving the club the ability to perhaps put someone like Zach Dezenzo in right from time to time.
The club has already been aggressive with Smith. A third base prospect, the Astros moved him to right field during spring training since they have Isaac Paredes at the hot corner. Smith performed well enough to crack the Opening Day roster as the everyday right fielder, despite having almost no experience there. He was also just short on professional experience in general. He was only just drafted by the Cubs last summer before getting into 32 minor league games in the second half of 2024. Only five of those were at the Double-A level and none at Triple-A. He and Paredes both came to the Astros in the offseason trade that sent Kyle Tucker to the Cubs.
All things considered, Smith has taken well to all the aggression. He has a .226/.304/.403 line to start his big league career. His 29% strikeout rate is on the high side but he has three home runs, helping him to a 109 wRC+. It’s hard to read much into a small sample of glovework but both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average consider Smith to be above par in the field so far.
The Astros are clearly happy with the results and feel confident enough in his abilities that they are given him yet another test. Per Rome, they have started getting him some center field reps in pre-game workouts. “When you break down what makes a good center fielder, you’re going to see reactions, routes, speed and an arm. So far, he’s shown the ability to do all those things,” outfield coach Jason Bell tells Rome. “I know it’s early, but from the early signs, you can see the chance that he would have to do that if that was a possibility.”
Rome mentions that this could be a way to add some extra offense on occasion. Houston’s regular center fielder is Jake Meyers, who is a strong defender but has a career batting line of .230/.293/.368 in 1,250 plate appearances, which translates to an 87 wRC+.
Occasionally moving Smith over to center would allow the Astros to bench Meyers and get a different bat into the lineup. Rome mentions Dezenzo as one such possibility. He has mostly played first base in the big leagues but has also seen some brief time at second, third and in the outfield corners. His .238/.282/.363 batting line isn’t better than Meyers’ but he’s only received 85 big league plate appearances. Over 2023 and 2024, he stepped to the plate 636 times in the minors with a .303/.384/.517 line and 139 wRC+.
Getting Dezenzo into the outfield for Meyers could perhaps add a bit more offense but would be a notable gamble defensively. The club is using former second baseman Jose Altuve in left field, so an outfield alignment of Altuve/Smith/Dezenzo would effectively involve three converted infielders. Meyers, on the other hand, has tallied 22 Defensive Runs Saved and 38 Outs Above Average in his career. Having two of those infielders out there with an excellent defender like Meyers is already a bit of a gamble but this new consideration would be pushing that even farther.
It’s a plan that is all still experimental and Rome notes it’s entirely possible Smith never plays in center, but it’s notable that the club is tinkering as guys like Christian Walker, Yainer Diaz and Yordan Alvarez are all scuffling at the plate.
MLBTR Podcast: Garrett Crochet’s Extension, Problems In Atlanta, And Other Early-Season Storylines
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Red Sox signing Garrett Crochet to a six-year extension (0:50)
- The Red Sox keeping Rafael Devers at designated hitter full-time and the general position player logjam (12:20)
- The Braves have started the season ice cold and have lost Reynaldo López to the injured list and Jurickson Profar to a PED suspension (20:05)
- The Rockies trade Nolan Jones to the Guardians for Tyler Freeman (28:05)
- The Astros put Cam Smith on their Opening Day roster, which could alter the view of the trade with the Cubs (34:05)
- The ongoing contract talks between the Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (44:00)
- The Mariners signing Cal Raleigh to a six-year extension (50:30)
- The Guardians extending Tanner Bibee and the Diamondbacks extending Brandon Pfaadt and others (54:35)
Check out our past episodes!
- What We Learned From The Offseason – listen here
- The Rays’ Stadium Deal Is Dead, Rangers’ Rotation Issues, And More! – listen here
- Lawrence Butler’s Extension, Gerrit Cole’s TJ, And Rays’ Ownership Pressured To Sell – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Tim Heitman, Imagn Images
Astros Designate Cooper Hummel For Assignment
The Astros have designated catcher/infielder/outfielder Cooper Hummel for assignment and placed righty J.P. France on the 60-day injured list as he recovers from last summer’s shoulder surgery. That pair of moves opens two additional spots on a 40-man roster that already had two vacancies. The four openings will go to righty Rafael Montero, lefty Steven Okert, second baseman Brendan Rodgers and top prospect Cam Smith, all of whom have been selected to the 40-man roster and are on the Opening Day club.
Houston also placed outfielders Pedro Leon and Taylor Trammell on the 10-day injured list due to a knee strain and calf strain, respectively. Right-handers Shawn Dubin, Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier, Lance McCullers Jr., Kaleb Ort and Forrest Whitley have all been placed on the 15-day IL.
The Astros had telegraphed all these moves. They’d already announced that Montero, Okert, Smith and Rodgers were making the team. Houston had previously informed Hummel that he would not break camp. Since he’s out of options, that made a DFA or waiver placement inevitable. France, who’ll be out into at least July rehabbing last year’s shoulder procedure, was an obvious 60-day IL candidate to open the final roster spot.
Houston claimed Hummel off waivers from the Giants last spring. They outrighted him off the 40-man roster a couple weeks later but reselected his contract in June when they released José Abreu. He spent most of the season in Triple-A, exhausting his final option season in the process. Hummel went 0-8 with a pair of strikeouts in his big league work. He had a solid year in Triple-A, hitting .277/.419/.454 with a massive 17.9% walk rate through 442 plate appearances.
The Astros will have five days to trade Hummel or place him on waivers. He’s not viewed as a regular behind the plate, but he can catch on occasion while playing first base or the corner outfield. His patient plate approach has translated to a .285/.419/.480 career slash in Triple-A. He owns just a .159/.255/.275 line with a 31.9% strikeout rate over 82 major league games.
Trammell, Whitley, Ort and Dubin are all out of options themselves. Their Spring Training injuries delay the Astros’ need to make a decision on any of them, as they’ll begin the year on the major league IL. Ort has the best chance of holding a roster spot once he returns after pitching to a 2.55 ERA with a 28% strikeout rate last season.
Cam Smith To Make Astros’ Roster
Prospect Cam Smith is going to make the Astros’ Opening Day roster as their right fielder, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The youngster isn’t yet on the 40-man roster and they will need a spot for him, as well as Rafael Montero and Steven Okert. They have two openings already and several candidates for the 60-day injured list, meaning they shouldn’t have trouble finding room for all those guys.
It’s been an incredible whirlwind for Smith, who was a student at Florida State a year ago. In July, the Cubs selected him with the 14th overall pick in the draft and signed him to a $5,070,700 bonus. The Cubs put the young third baseman to work right away, getting him into 15 Single-A games, 12 at High-A and five at Double-A. He walked in 11.2% of his plate appearances and was only struck out at a 17.9% clip. He launched seven home runs in 134 plate appearances and had a combined .313/.396/.609 batting line.
That made him one of the top prospects in baseball going into 2025. The Cubs went into the winter with a loaded farm system but a big league roster that had struggled to push beyond the mushy middle, finishing at 83-79 in each of the past two years. They were looking for a big splash and the Astros were reportedly open to moving Kyle Tucker. He’s a tremendous player but was slated for free agency after 2025, with Houston seemingly having no hope of getting an extension done. The Astros also had a preference to avoid the competitive balance tax this year.
The Cubs, as mentioned, had a very strong farm system. That included a couple of infield guys who were viewed as ahead of Smith. Matt Shaw and Owen Caissie are both on many top 100 prospect lists and each of them reached the Triple-A level in 2024.
All those stars aligned to make the trade happen. The Astros sent Tucker to Wrigley in exchange for third baseman Isaac Paredes, pitcher Hayden Wesneski and Smith. From the Cubs’ perspective, they were giving up a lot in the long term in order to make a big upgrade in 2025. Smith, as a prospect, was obviously a long play. Paredes still had three years of club control and would be an affordable replacement for Bregman at third base. Wesneski, with five years of club control, gave the club some affordable rotation depth.
Arguably, the Astros were making themselves worse in the short term, in order to save some money and come out ahead in the long run. Bregman and Tucker were two big losses. Parades could make up for some of Bregman’s production but likely not all. The outfield looked clearly worse on paper when compared to last year, especially with Yordan Alvarez slated to spend more time as the designated hitter. But beyond 2025, they weren’t going to have Tucker anyway. Now they would have Paredes, Wesneski and Smith’s contributions.
The short-term picture has changed a lot since camp opened. Smith put up a massive line of .342/.419/.711 in Grapefruit League action. As he started building those impressive numbers, there were whispers that the club wanted to get him work in right field, with Paredes blocking Smith’s natural third base position. It seems he has impressed the decision-makers enough to get the Opening Day nod, despite his very limited professional track record of just 32 professional games, none at the Triple-A level.
The outfield picture also changed in another way. Jose Altuve, who has been Houston’s second baseman for over a decade, is now going to be the left fielder. His glovework at the keystone was never great but has declined significantly as he has pushed into his mid-30s.
Overall, it’s a fascinating gambit for the Astros. Moving Alvarez out of left field makes sense, given all the health scares he has had over the years. Trading Tucker was also risky in its own way. Now they seem likely to feature a regular outfield mix of Jake Meyers in center, flanked by Altuve and Smith. Meyers hasn’t hit much in his career but is a strong defender. That glovework figures to be important, as he’ll be flanked by two converted infielders with no real experience on the grass.
The Altuve/Smith combo seems to have a good chance of outhitting a corner mix of Ben Gamel and Chas McCormick, which seemed like a possible Opening Day alignment as recently as a few weeks ago. Then again, even the best prospects often struggle when first promoted to the majors, so there are no guarantees Smith will immediately flourish. Still, it’s understandable bet on a higher ceiling.
If Smith does thrive, that would obviously help the club in 2025 but it could also benefit the Astros in another way. The current collective bargaining agreement added measures to discourage service time manipulation. One of those prospect promotion incentives is that clubs can receive an extra draft pick just after the first round under certain conditions. If a player is on two of the three top 100 lists from Baseball America, ESPN or MLB.com, they are PPI eligible if their club promotes them early enough in the season to earn a full service year. If such a player wins Rookie of the Year or finish top three in MVP or Cy Young voting in their pre-arbitration years, the club earns an extra pick. Smith is ranked 55th overall at BA, 73rd at ESPN and 59th at MLB.com and is therefore eligible.
Turning to a few other roster decisions for the Astros, Zach Dezenzo will get a bench spot but Cooper Hummel will not, per Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. Hummel is out of options, so he should be designated for assignment or traded in the coming days.
Hummel has an awful .159/.255/.275 batting line in the majors but has been much better in the minors and has interesting defensive versatility. He has a .285/.419/.480 line over the past four minor league seasons and hit .316/.435/.447 in camp this year. Defensively, he’s an option at all four corner spots. He didn’t play behind the plate in 2024 but did in previous seasons. That could make him attractive to other clubs but he cleared waivers in April of 2024 when he still had an option remaining.
One final bench spot will come down to Brendan Rodgers or Zack Short, manager Joe Espada tells Rome. Both players were signed to minor league deals, so that will be another 40-man spot the team will need to open. But as mentioned, they have lots of 60-day IL candidates and should be fine there.
Images courtesy of Reinhold Matay, Imagn Images
Brown: Astros “Having Conversations” About Cam Smith Potentially Breaking Camp
Few players have turned more heads in Spring Training than Astros top prospect Cam Smith. Acquired from the Cubs alongside Isaac Paredes and Hayden Wesneski in the Kyle Tucker trade, Smith was supposed to be the one member of that trio who would not impact the MLB team right away. The 14th overall pick last summer, he has only played 32 minor league games (just five of which have come above High-A).
Smith couldn’t have done much more this spring to force the Astros to consider whether he should break camp. He’s hitting .419 with four homers and a triple in 13 contests. He has worked five walks while striking out eight times in 36 plate appearances. That performance has kept him in big league camp into the final few days of Spring Training. There’s now a realistic chance he’ll make the team.
“We’re making some tough decisions. We want to put our best team forward. We’re having these conversations about Cam Smith,” general manager Dana Brown told Sports Talk 790. “We think he’s really good and we think he has really good upside. We have to make a decision: are we going to start him in the major leagues, or is he going to the minor leagues? … Make no mistake, I’m not afraid to put this guy in the big leagues. We’re having these discussions right now. This guy is really good.”
The Astros have hinted at that possibility with Smith’s recent defensive deployments. He was a collegiate third baseman and played there exclusively in the minors last summer. The Astros used him at the hot corner early this spring. His three most recent appearances have come in right field. That’s a position of greater need in the short term.
They’ll give most of the third base playing time to Paredes. They entered camp with Chas McCormick slated for everyday right field work. He’s coming off a personal-worst .211/.271/.306 showing over 94 games. McCormick entered last season as a career .259/.336/.449 hitter, making him a reasonable rebound candidate. He has had a bizarre spring. McCormick has walked 11 times with four strikeouts in 41 trips to the plate, but he only has four hits without a home run.
Houston presumably wouldn’t start getting Smith right field reps if they weren’t serious about him as a short-term MLB option. That doesn’t guarantee he’ll break camp. Chandler Rome of The Athletic wrote on March 6 (before Smith had any right field reps this spring) that the Astros intended to get him playing time at the position in the minor leagues. Sending him to Double-A or Triple-A for at least a few weeks may still be on the table, but the Astros have already accelerated plans to get Smith in-game outfield work.
If he does force his way onto the MLB roster, McCormick would profile as a fourth outfielder. He could take at-bats in Jake Meyers’ stead in center field. McCormick could also work into left field at times, allowing Houston to occasionally bring Jose Altuve back into second base.
Joe Espada Confirms Altuve Will Open Season As Primary Left Fielder
The Astros will keep Jose Altuve in left field to begin the season, manager Joe Espada told the beat on Wednesday (links via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com and Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle). Espada said the plan is for Altuve to play “most of his games” in left, though he noted that could change depending on how things play out during the season.
It’s the finalization of what had become clear throughout camp. Altuve has started 10 games in left against one at second base (and one at designated hitter) this spring. It’s been understandably rocky. Altuve dropped easy fly balls in each of the last two games. He has three errors compared to 13 putouts. Altuve told reporters that his most recent misplays, each of which came with a runner on third, have come as he’s attempted to rush throws home.
“I’m really happy that I got two more fly balls today after I missed that one and I was able to make those plays and just move on,” he said. “Just move on. I’ve been in tough situations before, and I’ve overcome that. I’m ready to go out there and play good left field. I promise I’m going to keep working hard and be a great left fielder.”
Altuve’s start in left field on Opening Day will be his first in the big leagues at any position other than second base. He’ll likely occasionally slide back to his old position on days when Yordan Alvarez draws into the outfield. Espada has said he hopes to keep Alvarez at DH more frequently than he has in previous years. Mauricio Dubón should get the majority of second base work.
One potential factor for the corner outfield mix: Cam Smith. Houston has left the door open for the prospect in the Kyle Tucker trade to break camp in his first full professional season. The 22-year-old has torn the cover off the ball this spring. He took A.J. Minter deep for his fourth homer of the spring during tonight’s game. Smith is hitting .419 with an OPS pushing 1.400 in 13 exhibition games. The Astros have begun getting the collegiate third baseman reps in right field, where he has 25 innings.
It’s not a sign that Smith is moving off his natural position. He has played 41 innings over eight games at third base. Still, with Isaac Paredes positioned for the majority of the third base work, Smith’s best short-term path to MLB work might be in the outfield. That’d probably be at the expense of projected right fielder Chas McCormick, but it’s feasible that he could get some work in left field as well — especially if McCormick rebounds from his rough ’24 season.