Yankees Face New Shakeup Suggestion Involving Two Astros Infielders

The New York Yankees should turn to the Houston Astros for lineup help this winter, with third baseman Isaac Paredes and shortstop Jeremy Peña as the targets, according to a Thursday mailbag in The Athletic.

Chris Kirschner of The Athletic made the case after a subscriber asked who the Yankees’ top outside target should be, setting aside their own free agents.

Houston won the American League West at 81-81. It also has too many infielders, with Carlos Correa due back from the ankle injury that ended his season in May.

Owner Hal Steinbrenner has already put the problem on the hitters. At the club’s end-of-season news conference Oct. 21, two weeks after Tampa Bay swept New York in the AL Division Series, he cleared manager Aaron Boone and general manager Brian Cashman.

“I don’t think you can pin the season and the unacceptable end to it on Aaron. I don’t think you can pin it on [Cashman],” Steinbrenner said. “I was disappointed, quite frankly, with the offense throughout the course of the year … as a whole, they were very inconsistent when it came to run scoring.”

Boone will return for a 10th season in 2027 for the New York Yankees, the final year of his contract.

“When you look at the subpar season, that certainly ended in an unacceptable way, is [Boone] really responsible?” Steinbrenner said.

“In the end, the majority of the responsibility, I’ll say it for the fifth time, in my mind, in my opinion, lies with the position players,” Steinbrenner continued, “and the inability to score on a consistent basis throughout the course of the entire season, for the most part, and not on the shoulders of Aaron Boone does the blame lie.”

Kirschner described Paredes, 27, as the low-strikeout, walk-drawing slugger fans have asked for, with at least a 115 wRC+ in each of the last five seasons.

Over 659 plate appearances in 2026, Paredes hit .262 with a .360 on-base percentage. He finished with 25 home runs and 94 RBIs.

Houston holds a $13.35 million club option on Paredes for 2027.

Peña is the second name. The 29-year-old hit .277 with 22 home runs, 56 RBIs and 12 stolen bases in 112 games this season.

Kirschner wrote that Peña, a shortstop throughout his career, should be able to handle second or third base. He also pointed to Peña’s October track record, which includes 2022 World Series MVP honors as a rookie.

Both players are one season away from free agency.