The Astros announced that shortstop Jeremy Peña has a fracture in the tip of his right ring finger. He will be reevaluated in two weeks. Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle was among those to relay the update.
Peña was playing for the Dominican Republic team yesterday in an exhibition contest against the Tigers in advance of the World Baseball Classic. In the third inning, he fielded a grounder from Wenceel Pérez behind the second base bag. Peña was able to make the play and throw out Pérez but was seen looking at his finger. He was later removed from the contest.
Yesterday, Dionisio Soldevila of Grandes en los Deportes reported that Peña had suffered a fracture. The Astros initially pushed back on that report, saying that Peña had cracked his fingernail and was still undergoing testing, but a fracture is the diagnosis after all. The WBC final is on March 17th, so it appears that the D.R. team will have to proceed without Peña at shortstop for the whole tournament.
As for the Astros, time will tell if Peña can get healthy in time for their season opener or not. They will start their campaign on March 26th, three weeks from today. Perhaps Peña will have enough time to heal up. If not, injured list stints can be backdated by three days, so there’s a potential scenario where he makes a quick trip to the IL and is back in a week.
At least temporarily, this alleviates the logjam the Astros have been facing on the position player side. For most of the offseason, trade rumors have swirled due to the club seemingly having one more infielder than necessary. Isaac Paredes has been the guy most often at the center of that trade speculation. He was Houston’s third baseman for most of last year but he suffered a significant hamstring strain which prompted the Astros to acquire Carlos Correa to replace him.
With Paredes now healthy going into 2026, the infield is a bit cluttered. On paper, the Astros have Peña at short, Correa at third, Jose Altuve at second and Christian Walker at first. Yordan Alvarez can play left field but will be the designated hitter most days. Paredes could bounce around the infield with some time in the DH spot when Alvarez in left.
It’s a bit inelegant, which has led to all the rumors, but this Peña injury also demonstrates how quickly the surplus could evaporate. If he has to miss some time, the Astros could slide Correa over to short, which would allow Paredes to have a regular playing time at third.
This Peña injury doesn’t appear to be major, so things could get tight again fairly quickly, but another injury at some point is likely. Correa and Alvarez have both had some notable injury troubles over the years. Altuve and Walker have been more reliable but Altuve will be turning 36 soon and Walker is approaching his 35th birthday. The logjam is only really a problem is everyone is healthy at the same time.
Perhaps the odds of a Paredes deal have decreased somewhat with this development. On the other hand, the Astros still want to add another lefty bat into their outfield group and appear to be against their budget limit, so there could still be a case for a Paredes trade if the right offer comes along. More information on Peña’s status and the club’s plans should be forthcoming as Opening Day gets closer.
Photo courtesy of Cary Edmondson, Imagn Images
