[Official] Astros Offseason

Dana should only trade him if the Stros get the better end of the deal. After all Parades is the Stros 2nd best hitter IMHO on a team that's starved for offense.

 

Agreed

I would need Duran if it’s Boston or im telling them no thanks, and if they want Abreu also they can go kick rocks

 

I believe Nook confirmed that before Yanier Diaz was called up, he told the Astros he didn't want to be a catcher and preferred to stay in the minors at some other position. Obviously he had no real choice in the end and/or changed his mind, but his focus on catching was part of the Dusty/Maldy/Diaz problem his rookie year.

 

A

Are you citing that situation as proof of Beard’s point? Because it proves my point. The player may have said he didn’t want to play the position, but guess what happened? He was told he was gonna play that position, he got his gear and he got his ass out there, and the most anyone heard of it was a rumor on a message board. And he’s still playing that position 3 years later.

I won’t argue that Paredes might not want to play LF and he might tell the front office and coaches that. But if the front office and coaches decide the best thing for the organization is for Paredes to play LF, he will play LF and I would be shocked if it became an actual story. No smart pre-free agency player wants a reputation as somebody who refuses to do what is best for the team. Publicly whining about it would hurt him far more than it would the Astros, and it would be very unnecessary and rare. He’s going to seriously damage his reputation and potential free agent earnings because he doesn’t want to field 2 balls a game in the outfield? Nah.

Go google it. Aside from the situation with Devers last year, there are no articles about a MLB position player publicly complaining about a position change or refusing to do it in the last half decade.

 

To be fair, in the case of Yainer (if that really happened) I fully agree, and have said as much

If you are a prospect, or someone who isn’t fully established as a big league player, you are WAY more likely to be told what you must do if you want to make the show

Totally different for a guy who all 30 teams would gladly take

As for “google it” you won’t find much, cause neither side would want those issues to go public, it would harm both sides. As you said, the player wouldn’t want that out there regardless of years of service, cause even if you are a guy like Devers it’s a terrible look

The teams wouldn’t want that out there either, big league players wouldn’t be lining up to go to an organization who treats players as strict subordinates

Ok for real this time I’m done, we will never agree on this so no need to carry on

Let’s just trade Walker and put Paredes at 1B and win the WS

 

If Yanier didn't have the plate discipline of a 6 year old he could have forced himself into first base. He a good hitter for a catcher but a terrible hitter for a first baseman

 

Yes, when Diaz in the minors, and starting hitting well - he made it clear to the organization he did not want the responsibility of catching.

Ultimately he ended up catching, and while it hasn’t been perfect - he has remained behind the plate.

Paredes, from everything I have heard about him - will try and play where ever the Astros want him to play. He trains hard, he is smart and would likely be okay.

 

There are cheap options available to play the backup IF role. Hell, go get the Rengifo. He can be another Dubon except he can steal bases. Mateo would have been another great addition, he signed for one million. You trade Paredes because the Astros have one of the shittiest OFs in all of baseball. Adding Paredes to the OF doesn't make them that much better as any potential offensive gain is likely taken away by what I would expect would be horrible defense. We tried this last year with a better athlete in Altuve and it was an abysmal failure. I don't care what type of work Paredes puts in because the dude is fat.

 

Duran's trade value is 1.75x that of Paredes. They are not apples to apples whatsoever and it's delusional to pretend they are.

I would not do Paredes+Cam Smith or Paredes+Abreu for Duran, because the Astros need the depth.

Paredes is an intelligent hitter and one of a few players the team can afford to extend. Duran is getting a Bregman esque contract in 3 years and isolated strong offensive players don't put a team over the top (see how unthreaetening they were in Tuckers final season).

 

Berkman was fat, and while he wasn't really good defensively out there, he certainly provided overall value to the team playing out there

I don't like the idea of playing players at spots where they don't provide defensive value, I think defense matters way more than most give it credit for. But Paredes could likely play LF as well as Yordan does, and he is likely our next best hitter after Yordan. It's not what i'm hoping for, but he would be a positive overall player for us if it comes to that

 

Duran certainly has more trade value simply because he has two extra years of control.

Paredes was the better player last year though, obviously until the injury basically ended his season

I think most (not all) on here understand that, which is why most of the Paredes for Duran trades talked about on here also have either Bello or Early coming back with another strong Astro going back to Boston

That part is really where the problem lies, and likely why a trade hasn't gotten done. The Astros have some really good players, but there isn't much depth anywhere. So Boston probably wants Abreu to get a deal done and Dana very likely isn't going to blink on that.

IF Dana is really trying to move Paredes to get Duran, the biggest advantage we have is there aren't many (if any) other options available at this point for Boston to target that is as good, or even close to as good, as Paredes

I think it's more likely the Astros acquire Brendan Donovan than Duran. The cost would be a little less as Donovan doesn't have the offensive upside of Duran and he has one less year of control. But the advantage Donovan would bring is not only could he be a regular in LF, he would also be easily our best backup infielder. It's extremely unlikely we would add Donovan without moving Paredes or Walker (not necessarily in that same deal) so obviously it would take a lot of moving pieces to make acquiring Donovan happen, but in my opinion that is by far the best option we have if it could be pulled off

 

I’m not really a big proponent of a salary cap, but I do think it’s messed up that the Dodger and Mets are carrying payrolls in excess of $100M more than the Astros, who themselves are carrying a payroll in the top 10 in the league. The Dodgers are spending $160M+ more than Houston in 2026; in terms of wins that’s 15-20 wins they’ve bought. I’m just whining but I sure do wish Houston could go out and sign whoever they wanted to fill their roster needs instead of waiting on pins and needles to see if they’ll make a trade tha robs Peter to pay Paul.

 

The prospects that the Mets gave up for Peralta, what would be comparable in the Astros system?

 

Brice Matthews and Spencer Arrighetti; Houston might’ve needed to throw in a 3rd lesser prospect to match it since Arrighetti probably isn’t quite as valuable as Sproat. But Matthews and Jett Williams are extremely similar prospects. I think it was a fair deal and I would have been ok with Houston making that trade, especially if they intend to stay under the CBT and would get a 2nd rd pick after Peralta leaves.

 

Duran and Tolle for Paredes, Abreu, and Arrighetti

Who says no?

 

Boston. If Boston was ok with that trade I think it would have already been completed.

Boston was probably asking for Paredes and Abreu for Abreu and Early (or Phillips). I doubt they ever listened on Tolle and for Duran they probabiy wanted a lot more.

 

You asked for examples of non-established players making an issue out of a position change. I gave you one - the guy was willing to delay a trip to the majors to play his preferred position. The discussion was never about whether the player would win the battle or not (of course they wouldn't - the team has all the control) or whether it would be a public disagreement (that doesn't help either side, as we saw with Devers). Diaz is still playing catcher. We have no idea how much he wants to or whether it affected his relationship with the organization or his batting skills or whatnot. The discussion was not about whether Paredes would do it - of course he would. It was about all the peripherals that come with a potentially grumpy player.

I don't know why the last 5 years part got added, but on a more general note, here is the google AI summary - Gleyber Torres at least fits the new criteria.

Several Major League Baseball players have famously resisted, delayed, or expressed strong dissatisfaction with proposed position changes, often driven by a desire to stay at premium defensive spots, personal pride, or contract implications.
Here are examples of MLB players who were not willing to change positions:

• Rafael Devers (Boston Red Sox, 2025): In May 2025, Devers explicitly refused to move to first base to fill in for an injured Triston Casas, telling reporters, "I know I'm a ballplayer, but at the same time, they can't expect me to play every single position out there". He had already been shifted from third base to designated hitter earlier that spring, and despite struggling defensively at third, he insisted on remaining at his original position.
• Gleyber Torres (New York Yankees, 2024-2025): When the Yankees acquired Jazz Chisholm Jr. in 2024, the team intended to move Torres from second base to third base. Reports indicate Torres "outright refused" to make the move, leading the team to play Chisholm at third base instead. This resistance is believed to be a key reason the Yankees allowed Torres to leave in free agency.
• Alfonso Soriano (Washington Nationals, 2006): After being traded to the Nationals, Soriano adamantly refused to transition from second base to the outfield, even holding out of spring training in protest. He eventually conceded, moving to left field where he actually performed well, but his initial resistance was a significant story at the time.
• Manny Machado (Los Angeles Dodgers, 2018): When traded to the Dodgers, who needed him to fill in for Corey Seager at shortstop, there were reports that Machado was highly resistant to playing third base, preferring to stay at his accustomed shortstop position until he got paid (which he did in free agency later).
• Gary Sheffield (Milwaukee Brewers, Early 1990s): Though he eventually moved to the outfield, early in his career, Sheffield was a shortstop who did not want to move, causing friction with teams early in his career before he ultimately became a star corner outfielder.

 

Don't like Tolle and would rather keep Paredes in that regard

 

So.. Abreu?