From the Athletic: ORLANDO, Fla. — A week ago, the Milwaukee Brewers viewed the interest in right-hander Freddy Peralta as significant enough for them to consider “cracking the door open” for trade discussions. The Brewers left the door ajar at the winter meetings, and naturally, teams came barging through. The Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros are among the teams in on Peralta, according to people familiar with the Brewers’ discussions
It feels nice to included but I can't imagine us outbidding anyone with what we have. A nothing burger leaving the winter meetings. We likely need to let other things settle in free agency.
Peralta is a rental. Houston can get him if they want to. It might take something utterly stupid like offering Cam Smith, which I would hate.
That dude hasn't been good since the Carter administration. Oh wait, this is Carl's grandson. I still stand by my statement.
You know with a lockout looming for 2027 , I'd consider even 2 years of control similar to one year. Although history likely points to have an abbreviated season.
These type of things typically sort themselves out via injury or someone underperforming. The short-term solution is to play Paredes at DH a little more then get him some time at 1B/2B/3B by giving a little more off days (especially Altuve). Left field sees the least amount of action. That was part of the rationale behind Altuve moving out there last season. I don't see why it's that big of a deal if Yordan plays about 50% of his games out there. All of his injuries have occurred in the batter's box (hand, oblique) and running the bases (knee, ankle). Last I checked, being at DH everyday doesn't exclude him from those activities.
With Winter Meetings a wrap, Astros remain interested in starting arms, backup backstops For the first time since 2017, the Astros took a player in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft when they selected Muñoz, 25, from the Reds. He has pitched in 27 games (17 starts) in the Major Leagues with the Marlins (2024) and Cardinals ('25), posting a 6.73 ERA. In 393 2/3 Minor League innings, he has a 4.76 ERA while splitting time between the rotation and bullpen. Astros senior director of player personnel Matt Hogan said Muñoz flourished as a reliever in the second half of the season at Triple-A and will compete for a spot in the bullpen. Houston tried to trade for him during last season. Muñoz throws two hard breaking balls and a mid-90s four-seam fastball. “Obviously, he’s not a traditional Rule 5 pick [because] he’s got big league time, but we thought he turned the corner kind of midyear as a reliever in Triple-A,” Hogan said. “The breaking stuff is very, very good and that's kind of the draw. We think the upside is high-leverage reliever. We think coming into camp he has a real good chance to make the team and fit in our bullpen.”
From fangraphs write up on all the rule 5 picks: “Muñoz is the rare Rule 5 pick who’s already lost rookie eligibility, as the former Brave, Marlin, National, and Cardinal made 17 big league starts in 2024. The Cardinals moved Muñoz to the bullpen in 2025 and his bat-missing results took a leap in the minors, but he struggled to find the zone in his 11 big league innings and after the season (and a few other roster moves) signed a minor league deal with the Reds. Muñoz is one of those guys whose poor fastball movement and lack of command make his heater vulnerable even though he’ll touch 99 mph. In 2025, he became more of a cutter/slider guy and threw his fastball much less often. Some of Roddery’s sliders look like Brad Lidge’s best ones; they’re 90 mph and drop straight off the table with break that looks more like a curveball. He has maybe 20-grade control and it wouldn’t be surprising if he struggled to throw strikes so badly next spring that he can’t stick on the Astros’ roster, but if their coaching staff can dial him in enough, they might have a second Bryan Abreu on their hands.”
