The Astros were ready to add Bregman this season and work out everything. Correa just slots into whatever their plan was if that worked out, no? I don't see any reason they would trade either Walker or Paredes. If Dubon gets too expensive, I could see them letting him go and using Urias as a less-ideal but cheaper version of him.
If Paredes could play 2B it'd be an easy non-decision. Alas, he cannot by all accounts, especially coming off a nuked hamstring.
Do we know he can't? The Astros seemed to think he could in March when they were still pushing for Bregman. Obviously the hamstring could change things, but he hasn't even had surgery yet less alone a rehab so it seems like we wouldn't have any idea what that recovery will look like yet. I don't think torn hamstrings are career-enders for 2B, but I actually have no idea.
I think Houston was trying to sign Bregman before they signed Walker. If they’d signed Bregman they wouldn’t have signed Walker and Paredes would have played 3B. Walker, Paredes, and Dubon will make a combined $30M-$40M next season; that’s too much money for the open spots those guys can fill.
They kept the door open to Bregman all the way until the very end when he signed with Boston a couple of months after signing Walker and trading for Paredes. That's where the original talk of Altuve in LF came from - it was to originally to accommodate Bregman and move Paredes to 2B. Dubon shouldn't go into any season as a starter penciled in anywhere. His enormous value comes from the plug-the-leak scenario where he can fit wherever a hole inevitably pops up due to injury or underperformance. He shouldn't be any team's starting option at a particular position.
What was the timing of the Tucker (Paredes) trade, the Walker signing, and the talks with Bregman? Maybe they wanted Bregman to play 2B? He was a SS at LSU and all.
The timing was that they signed Walker and did the Tucker trade, gave up on Bregman, and then months later when Bregman wasn't signed, reached back out and asked Altuve to start exploring left field so they could move Paredes - who has played a lot of 2B in his MLB career - to 2B and Bregman could go back 3B where he was a gold-glove defender. Jose Altuve open to switching positions to keep Alex Bregman with Astros | FOX Sports Astros star second baseman Jose Altuve expressed that he'd be open to changing positions if it would help the team re-sign Bregman. "We haven't talked about it, but for Alex, I'd do whatever," Altuve said at Astros FanFest on Saturday. "He's one of the best players in the whole league, but definitely one of the best players on this team. We want him to stay, and whatever I have to do for him to stay I'm willing to do it. … We have a better chance to win a championship with [Bregman]. "I'm willing to do whatever for him to stay." Houston's depth chart would have to change if Bregman, who has primarily played third base during his nine-year MLB career, comes back. Free agent signee Christian Walker is the team's first baseman, with Jeremy Pena at shortstop. Paredes has played first and second base, with Paredes' experience in the middle infield position opening the door for him to move to second with Bregman returning to the hot corner. Such moves would necessitate Altuve, a nine-time All-Star, becoming the team's designated hitter or moving to the outfield, which he has never played at either the MLB or MiLB level. Astros' Jose Altuve still expected to move to left even after Alex Bregman's exit | FOX Sports It's an interesting move as the Astros didn't go out and acquire a blatant replacement at second base. The idea of moving Altuve to left was first broached when the team was looking to keep third baseman Alex Bregman. If Bregman had returned to Houston, it might have forced newly acquired Isaac Paredes to shift to second base and Altuve to the outfield, but with Bregman joining the Red Sox, Paredes will remain at third.
Hey, I've been wrong once or twice before, but if you've watched Paredes at 3B and on the bases you might share my trepidation about him at 2B. I don't see it as a feasible option.
Like I said - that was seemingly the plan as of 4-5 months ago if they got Bregmam. But I don't know if anything has changed based on what they've seen since or what the hamstring injury may do to him going forward. So I'm curious what the Astros think of him now as far as 2B - and I guess my question is whether he would be any worse than Altuve has been the last year or two there.
I'd rather, again just from what I've seen, put Correa at 2B and Paredes on 3rd. But like we've said, who knows how Paredes's leg will respond.
Yeah, I don't think Paredes is a viable 2nd basemen due to his poor lateral movement. On a recent Chandler Rome podcast (maybe the one before the trade deadline) he said an Astros source told him that Paredes was tried at 2nd in Spring Training and it went horribly. I think he may have gone so far as to say it's not even an option.
Also, I love Walker and all, but if you can get somobody to take his contract and then move Paredes to 1B...?
Though he has shown some signs of life lately, I still think Walker was a bad move. If there is any chance to move him, I would do it.
Who knows if it will last, but Walker is quietly batting well over 0.300 with a 0.900 OPS since July 1st. He's been their best hitter for the last month+.
