Fully agree with this And I don't think it will be hard for them to move Walker. Even if they have to add 5 million or so it still opens up around 15 million in room, provides Paredes as fulltime spot at 1B and all of the sudden everything just fits better. I think there are options to move Walker but I think they were waiting to make any big moves until they had the rotation figured out. I'll be surprised if Walker isn't moved in the next week
Counter example: C Diaz 1B Walker 2B Correa SS Pena 3B Paredes LF Altuve/Yordan CF Meyers RF Smith/Sanchez I am see one position with a bad defender: LF. Even if you switch Correa and Paredes at 2B and 3B, I am unsure that Paredes is a bad defender at 2B. Paredes has the arm to play 3B which is a higher valued defensive position. If given a choice of getting average defense from Paredes at 2B or 3B, most teams would chose playing Paredes at 3B. The Astros may chose to see if Paredes with reps over the entire ST can play an average 2B (which is not a high bar). Paredes has said that he is willing to play 2B, so this is something that should at least strongly consider. If Paredes in ST proves to the Astros coaching staff that his ceiling is a below average 2B defensively, the Astros still have the option to play Correa at 2B. 3 of the 4 IF positions will have an above average defender, with the another IF position being average
The Astros could probably package Walker, Meyers, and Arrighetti to shed about $20M in 2026 payroll and get back some good value in return without doing much of any damage at all to their 2026 outlook. The main issue I see is that there aren’t any ideal fits on the free agent market. Ryan O’Hearn would have been an ideal target. Luis Arraez would be a fit if Houston were confident he could play LF 75% of the time. Rebound candidates like Max Kepler or Michael Conforto don’t move the needle and aren’t guaranteed to be an upgrade over Sanchez, Cole, Meyers, Smith, or Dezenzo. But other than that unless they can somehow afford Bellinger there aren’t any good options. On the trade front, potential fits would be Lars Nootbaar, Wilyer Abreu, Jaren Duran, Steven Kwan, Dylan Beavers, Brendan Donovan, Alec Burleson, Sal Frelick, Trevor Larnach, Matt Wallner, Jake McCarthy, Gavin Lux, Mickey Moniak, Seiya Suzuki, and Nolan Jones. Luis Robert Jr. would also be a potential target even though he hits right handed. The problem is trying to line up multiple moves to ensure they don’t add a player that puts them over the tax while losing all leverage in trying to move Walker.
I know I'm in the minority, but I like having Walker at 1B. His defense gives me a secure feeling that we haven't had at that position since Yuli and he turned it around at the plate in the 2nd half. Not sure he wasn't playing hurt early in the season and that impacted his start. With an aging infield, it's not bad to have additional player flexibility and some rotation. Defensively, an infield with Correa at 3B, Pena at SS, Paredes at 2B and Walker at 1B could be really good. As for the OF, I appreciate Meyers defense, but have never been a big fan of his overall game. I know it's risky, but I'd rather give Cole or perhaps Cam a chance to win the position in ST. Both these guys have big tools and if they put it together could be awesome long-term. Zach Dezenzo's injury last year was unfortunate, but he still has the potential to help us at the corners and emergency 1B. While Sanchez gives us a lefty bat, he didn't do much for us. However, if our new hitting coaches can get him to focus maybe he becomes a platoon option for us in the corners and PH bat when we need him. I know the young OFs are still wildcards for our more knowledgeable fans, and maybe it's my baseball naivety speaking, but I'm excited about our young guys (esp with Melton gone). I didn't mention Matthews, but he's another youngin who could contribute this year. I'll let the smart guys discuss cap issues and the rest, but I'm pretty hyped by our pitching moves and I'm getting excited for ST to start.
