Houston

Astros

Muñoz was the lone major league veteran chosen today. The Reds claimed him from the waivers from the Cardinals last month, non-tendered him and then re-signed him to a minor league contract. Since he wasn’t on the 40-man, that made him eligible to be swooped up here, and the Astros decided it was worth it. Muñoz has a 6.73 ERA in 17 starts and 10 relief appearances as a major leaguer. Used exclusively as a reliever for the first time last season, he struck out 76 in 57 2/3 innings for the Cardinals’ Triple-A club. He’ll probably battle for a spot in Houston’s pen.

With Francisco Lindor at short, Correa was going to give third base a try in the 2023 WBC, only to drop out due to the upcoming birth of his child. Now that Correa is, in fact, a third baseman, it’s an easier fit. Beltrán also confirmed that Riley Greene, Nolan Arenado and George Springer have been invited to play for Team Puerto Rico. Arenado played for Team USA in 2017 and ’23, but he’s expected to switch it up this time.

This finalizes a deal agreed to a week ago. Weiss topped out in Triple-A with the Diamondbacks and Royals before pitching in Taiwan in 2023 and Korea the last two season. 2025 was his breakthrough campaign, as he went 16-5 with a 2.87 ERA and a 207/56 K/BB in 178 2/3 innings for Hanwha. The Astros will have the 28-year-old contend for a rotation spot in spring training.

The Astros are looking to use offseason trades to acquire young starting pitchers and have also been linked to Shane Baz and Connelly Early. Burrow is 26 years old and coming off a decent season with the Pirates, in which he posted a 3.94 ERA in 96 innings with a 24 percent strikeout rate. Burrow has decent velocity on his fastball with decent shape and a changeup that eats up left-handed hitters. His slider has flashed the ability to get swinging strikes against righties, so there is a path here for him to become an interesting starter if he can develop that slider a bit more.

The Red Sox want to bring Alex Bregman back to play third base, but they are also pursuing Bo Bichette and Isaac Paredes for the same role. The Astros are in the market for young pitchers with multiple years of control, and the Red Sox have plenty, so the teams could align on a deal, especially since Carlos Correa can play third base in Houston now. Paredes missed much of the second half of the season with a hamstring injury, but he’s under team control for two more seasons, makes under $10 million per year, and has a pulled fly ball approach that would work well in Fenway Park.

Rome and Rosenthal add that a potential deal is not believed to be close with some league sources characterizing Baz as unlikely to be traded but other sources indicated that the two sides discussed the framework of a potential deal. The 26-year-old former top prospect finished last season with a lackluster 4.87 ERA (4.37 FIP) but did post an encouraging 24.8 percent strikeout rate over 166 1/3 innings across a career-high 31 starts.

Espada’s comments came shortly after Astros general manager Dana Brown reaffirmed that Alvarez will be ready for Opening Day as he continues to recover from a significant high ankle sprain that he suffered in late September. Houston’s skipper added that the decision to limit Alvarez from playing the field is strictly for health purposes. The Astros would like to keep the 28-year-old middle-of-the-order force in their lineup as often as possible after a hand fracture limited him to just 48 games this past season. It’s a positive development for fantasy purposes as eliminating the wear and tear of playing left field should help prevent knee issues that have bothered him in recent years.

Brown told reporters last month that Paredes wouldn’t be 100 percent at the outset of spring training as he continues to recover from a high-grade hamstring strain that he suffered back in mid-July. It certainly sounds like there’s optimism the 26-year-old corner infielder will be ready for Houston’s season opener in late March, which should help boost his appeal in fantasy drafts in the coming months.

VanWey and Trammell were both removed from the 40-man roster last week. They could both spend time in the majors in 2026, but in order to do so they’ll need to be added back to Houston’s — or another team’s — 40-man.

Feinsand specifically notes those three clubs as the biggest threats to sign the 30-year-old left-hander away from the Phillies. He also mentions the Tigers and Mets as teams that have shown interest. With multiple large market teams in the bidding, it sounds like Suárez should do pretty well for himself here on the open market.