{"id":561767,"date":"2026-02-08T23:53:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T23:53:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/561767\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T23:53:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T23:53:15","slug":"pirates-red-sox-among-teams-interested-in-isaac-paredes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/561767\/","title":{"rendered":"Pirates, Red Sox Among Teams Interested In Isaac Paredes"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pirates and Red Sox are two of \u201cat least five teams\u201d discussing Isaac Paredes<\/a> in trade talks with the Astros, according to The Athletic\u2019s Chandler Rome and Ken Rosenthal<\/a>.\u00a0 This is the first time Pittsburgh has been linked to Paredes, though the two-time All-Star has been known to be a Red Sox target for much of the winter.<\/p>\n

Boston\u2019s quest for infield help has been one of their primary offseason storylines, with such names as Alex Bregman<\/a>, Bo Bichette<\/a>, Ketel Marte<\/a>, Eugenio Suarez<\/a>, Nico Hoerner<\/a>, Brendan Donovan<\/a> and many others reportedly considered as free agent or trade targets.\u00a0 In Donovan\u2019s case, Rome and Rosenthal report that the Sox had some negotiations with the Astros and Cardinals about a three-team trade that would\u2019ve sent Paredes to Boston, Donovan to Houston, and presumably a multi-player prospect package to the rebuilding Cardinals.<\/p>\n

Instead, St. Louis opted for another three-team trade<\/a> with the Mariners and Rays, with Donovan landing in Seattle after months of speculation about the super-utilityman\u2019s future.\u00a0 The specific breakdown of what the Cardinals might\u2019ve gotten from the Astros or Red Sox isn\u2019t known, but the Donovan deal netted St. Louis a recent first-round pitching prospect (Jurrangelo Cijntje<\/a>), two other prospects (Tai Peete<\/a>, Colton Ledbetter<\/a>) and two 2026 draft picks in Competitive Balance Round B.\u00a0 The CBR picks are the only types of draft picks that can be traded, so the fact that the Rays and Mariners had such available selections and the Sox and Astros didn\u2019t could have quite possibly been a factor in the Cards\u2019 decision to accept that deal over the other three-team proposal.<\/p>\n

Had the Cardinals been amenable to what the Red Sox and Astros offered, the deal would\u2019ve checked off a couple of major boxes for the two AL teams.\u00a0 Paredes would\u2019ve stepped right in as Boston\u2019s everyday third baseman, adding right-handed balance to the Sox lineup and moving Marcelo Mayer<\/a> over into the unsettled second base mix.\u00a0 Donovan is known for his multi-positional versatility, but he would\u2019ve likely been Houston\u2019s everyday left fielder, with the Astros starting infield then settling as Carlos Correa<\/a> at third base, Jeremy Pena<\/a> at shortstop, Jose Altuve<\/a> at second base, and Christian Walker<\/a> at first base.\u00a0 Yordan Alvarez<\/a> is set for regular DH at-bats and neither Alvarez or Altuve are well-suited to left field work, so having Paredes in the fold creates something of a logjam for playing time if everyone is healthy.<\/p>\n

Houston GM Dana Brown has repeatedly said that the Astros are fine with their infield situation, though this could be some gamesmanship at play, as recent reports<\/a> suggested that the Astros may indeed still be looking to deal from their infield surplus.\u00a0 Rome and Rosenthal write that Paredes and Walker are both being floated in trade discussions, and \u201cParedes is more likely to be dealt than Walker, whose cumbersome contract and limited no-trade clause make it more difficult to move him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The three-year, $60MM free agent deal Walker signed last winter contains a six-team no-trade clause.\u00a0 Beyond the money and the no-trade protection, Walker is also entering his age-35 season, and he hit only .238\/.297\/.421 over 640 plate appearances (translating to a 99 wRC+) in his first season in Houston.\u00a0 Paredes missed almost two months of the 2025 season due to a hamstring injury but was terrific when he did play, batting .254\/.352\/.458 across 438 PA.<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t an ideal situation for the Astros that one of their better and less-expensive players might be their most logical trade candidate.\u00a0 However, because Houston\u2019s other infielders seem less likely to be moved for a variety of reasons, dealing Paredes might be the best way for Houston to both alleviate the infield surplus, and add a much-needed left-handed bat to the outfield.<\/p>\n

As Rome and Rosenthal note, the most obvious way for the Astros and Red Sox to address their twin needs would simply be to make a deal with each other, since Boston has a plethora of left-handed hitting outfielders.\u00a0 Jarren Duran<\/a> has been viewed as the outfielder the Sox may be most willing to move, though Rome\/Rosenthal write that the Astros prefer Wilyer Abreu<\/a> over Duran, in part because of price.\u00a0 Abreu doesn\u2019t reach arbitration eligibility under next winter, while Duran is making $7.7MM in 2026 and his salaries will continue to rise over his remaining two arb years.<\/p>\n

It remains to be seen if the Astros and Red Sox could finally line up on a deal themselves, or if perhaps another third party could get involved to help facilitate a trade.\u00a0 There\u2019s also the possibility that Houston could move Paredes elsewhere entirely, given the widespread interest in his services.<\/p>\n

The Pirates and Astros already joined forces on a prominent trade back in December, when the two clubs and the Rays engaged in a three-team swap<\/a>.\u00a0 The Buccos traded from their rotation depth in moving Mike Burrows<\/a> to Houston in that deal, while Pittsburgh bolstered its lineup by acquiring Brandon Lowe<\/a> and Jake Mangum<\/a>.\u00a0 Between that trade, the Ryan O\u2019Hearn<\/a> signing, and the deal with the Red Sox that brought Jhostynxon Garcia<\/a> into the outfield picture, the Pirates have made a priority of adding some much-needed hitting help to the roster.<\/p>\n

Landing Paredes would arguably be the biggest move of all for the Pirates\u2019 offense, and it would fill a hole at third base.\u00a0 Jared Triolo<\/a> is Pittsburgh\u2019s projected starter at the hot corner, and while Triolo is a plus defender, he has hit only .221\/.303\/.334 over his last 822 PA in 2024-25.\u00a0 In terms of how the Bucs could meet Houston\u2019s needs, the Pirates have multiple outfielders who are either lefty swingers or switch-hitters, yet none seem like exactly a fit.\u00a0 Oneil Cruz<\/a> likely isn\u2019t going anywhere, Bryan Reynolds<\/a> is probably too pricey for the Astros, and neither Mangum or Jack Suwinski<\/a> would provide clear offensive help.<\/p>\n

What other teams could speculatively be in on Paredes?\u00a0 Many contenders are already set at the corner infield slots, though if Paredes is viewed as an upgrade over an incumbent, a deal could be swung with a third team involved.\u00a0 On paper, the Brewers, Tigers, Marlins, Diamondbacks, and Athletics stand out as contenders or would-be contenders who could stand to improve at at least one of the first or third base positions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pirates and Red Sox are two of \u201cat least five teams\u201d discussing Isaac Paredes in trade talks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":553956,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2402],"tags":[5,4492,893,604,4,10,776,64,4297,606],"class_list":{"0":"post-561767","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-pirates","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-brendan-donovan","10":"tag-isaac-paredes","11":"tag-jarren-duran","12":"tag-mlb","13":"tag-pirates","14":"tag-pittsburgh","15":"tag-pittsburgh-pirates","16":"tag-pittsburghpirates","17":"tag-wilyer-abreu"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116037708091862141","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=561767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561767\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/553956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}