Why Red Sox should trade for Astros All-Star shortstop this offseason originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Red Sox had instability at shortstop in 2026.
This past season, six different players appeared at the middle infield spot for the AL East club.
None of them played more games than Trevor Story, who made just 62 starts at shortstop due to injuries.
The rest of the group consisted of Andruw Monasterio, Marcelo Mayer, Tsung-Che Chung, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Nick Sogard.
Franklin Arias, Boston's top prospect, is waiting in the wings at Triple-A Worcester. Still, he may not be ready to contribute until later in the season.
For that reason, Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller believes the Red Sox should target Jeremy Pena from the Houston Astros.
"And because they rather expect Arias to be a key piece of the puzzle by no later than 2028, trading for a multi-year solution a la CJ Abrams, Zach Neto or Corey Seager probably isn't the route they want to go, if they can instead get one year of Peña at a not-too-exorbitant cost," Miller wrote.
Pena would serve as a stopgap for Arias, MLB.com's No. 2 prospect in baseball. Or they can sign him to an extension and see if he'd be willing to move to second base. The former is the more likely scenario.
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Pena hit .277/.325/.477 with 22 home runs and a 122 OPS+ in 112 games this most recent season.
He is one of the more consistent offensive shortstops in the Majors and would provide power to Boston's lineup, something it desperately needs.
Of course, it takes two to tango, and the Astros have to be willing to include Pena's name in trade conversations.
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