{"id":561878,"date":"2026-02-09T02:40:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T02:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/561878\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T02:40:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T02:40:18","slug":"padres-and-astros-could-get-creative-in-exchange-of-offense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/561878\/","title":{"rendered":"Padres and Astros could get creative in exchange of offense"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Credit: AP Photo<\/p>\n

The Padres and Astros match up well in a deal to exchange some offensive firepower while providing Houston with some bullpen help.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A.J. Preller is one of the most creative G.M.s in all of professional sports.<\/p>\n

The San Diego Padres man at the helm is hellbent on producing a championship in America\u2019s Finest City. The Padres are certainly relevant, but you get a sense that the roster needs some minor additions or adjustments in the coming weeks. Preller added Miguel Andujar<\/a> and Marco Gonzales<\/a> this past week to strengthen the veteran core, but there is a need for more names to fill out the roster.<\/p>\n

The Houston Astros are also competitive and built to win now. The issue for them is that they are presently overcrowded in the infield. Presently, the team has Jeremy Pena<\/a> at shortstop, Carlos Correa<\/a> at third base, Jose Altuve<\/a> at second base, and Christian Walker<\/a> at first base. Isaac Paredes is also on the roster and could conceivably DH, but Yordan Alvarez<\/a> may take away a lot of at-bats from the DH position.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The thought is that the team could put Jose Altuve back in left field, but that seems far-fetched given his age and lack of production there defensively. The team traded for Jesus Sanchez<\/a> from the Marlins last season, and he will likely play right field. Jake Meyers<\/a> seems to be the team\u2019s center fielder, but they do have problems in left where Zach Cole<\/a> or Zach Dezenzo<\/a> will play. Cam Smith<\/a> also factors to some degree and may take away at-bats in center.<\/p>\n

For the Padres, they need rotation help and could also use help offensively at first base. The team is blessed with plenty of depth in the bullpen, even after the loss of Robert Suarez<\/a> to free agency. Adrian Morejon<\/a>, Jason Adam<\/a>, Jeremiah Estrada<\/a>, Yuki Matsui<\/a>, and Wandy Peralta<\/a> all make sense for a competitive team looking to upgrade.<\/p>\n

Can San Diego and Houston work out a deal to reorganize the roster while helping each other\u2019s needs in the pitching staff?<\/p>\n

Here is a proposed offer to think about:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

Ramon Laureano<\/a>, Jeremiah Estrada, Wandy Peralta, plus a prospect<\/p>\n

for<\/p>\n

Isaac Paredes<\/a> and Spencer Arrighetti<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why would the Padres do this deal?<\/p>\n

Paredes is 26 years old and capable of being really good with the bat. Most believe we have yet to see the best from this right-handed hitter. He can play corner infield and hits left-handed pitching very well, recording a career .808 OPS against southpaws. The native of Hermosillo, Mexico, would give the Mexican Padres fans a hero and boost credibility south of the border for the Padres. Paredes is also under team control for the next two seasons, which is helpful to San Diego.<\/p>\n

Arrighetti may be able to grow under Ruben Niebla. The right-handed pitcher is poised to pitch the entire 2026 season without limitations. His season was marred by injuries last season as he broke his thumb in a freak accident during spring batting practice. That took time to heal, and when he returned, he dealt with elbow soreness. The injury to his elbow was not considered serious, and he reports that he is ready for the upcoming season.<\/p>\n

Paredes is under team control for two years, and Arrighetti, with four years of control, is very appealing for a Padres team looking to save some money. This deal would save the Padres around $5 million for the 2026 season and give them one open 40-man roster spot. An extra $5 million could easily be utilized to strengthen the roster elsewhere.<\/p>\n

This deal has merit for the Padres. Paredes is arguably the best player in the deal, so San Diego would need to satisfy the Astros to get a deal done.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Credit: IMAGN Images<\/p>\n

Why would the Astros do this deal?<\/p>\n

The infield situation speaks for itself. They will need to move someone. It is what it is. There are rumors that the team is talking to multiple teams about moving an infielder.<\/p>\n

The Astros are built to win now and need bullpen pieces. Estrada provides the team with an 8th-inning complement to Josh Hader<\/a>. Wandy Peralta eats innings in the middle of the game and is a veteran left-handed presence. Ramon Laureano gives the Astros a legit outfielder and someone who mashes left-handed pitching. The team loses one year of service time as Laureano is a free agent after the 2026 season. That is not a huge ordeal, as Houston wouldn\u2019t want to be committed long-term anyway.<\/p>\n

A trade of Arrighetti hurts the Astros, but he is penciled in as the team\u2019s number five or six starter at this point. There is upside with his arm, but the need is in the bullpen. Hunter Brown<\/a>, Christian Javier, Tatsuya Imai<\/a>, Lance McCullers, newly acquired Mike Burrows<\/a>, and Ryan Weiss<\/a> all factor in the rotation. There are also rumors that the team is possibly looking to add a veteran arm before the start of the season. Spencer Arrighetti is expendable at this point.<\/p>\n

A prospect thrown into the deal may sway Houston to pull the trigger. Adding a lottery ticket like a young arm with upside could entice the Astros.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The verdict.<\/p>\n

Like anything Padres-related these days, anything is possible. The Astros are reportedly speaking to as many as five teams about the services of Paredes. It is not out of the realm of imagination to think the Padres are one of those clubs.<\/p>\n

A.J. Preller is in the middle of every transaction around the league. That is just how he rolls. This idea has merit, but it is not clear how the Astros view Ramon Laureano. Houston has bullpen issues, but they may believe they have answers in-house to solve their problems. San Diego could certainly upgrade the Astros in that aspect, but it is difficult to determine the value of pitchers in the bullpen who are not closing out games.<\/p>\n

The Padres have the bullets to acquire Paredes if that is a target for them. The Astros could very well be content with the one year of Laureano and a relief pitching boost.<\/p>\n

As spring baseball starts next week, rumors will start to surface. Keep an eye on the Padres and the Astros as they make sense in a potential deal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

James was born and raised in America\u2019s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. James has written about the Padres and their prospects for over a decade. He also writes about San Diego State as well as other local sports. James is the Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that\u2019s our motto. Enjoy.<\/p>\n

\t\tContinue Reading<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: AP Photo The Padres and Astros match up well in a deal to exchange some offensive firepower…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":561879,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2407],"tags":[5,893,4,43,73894,137,18,4339,4338],"class_list":{"0":"post-561878","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego-padres","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-isaac-paredes","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-padres","12":"tag-padres-astros-trade","13":"tag-san-diego","14":"tag-san-diego-padres","15":"tag-sandiego","16":"tag-sandiegopadres"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116038365215280067","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561878","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=561878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/561879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}