Isaac

Paredes

Paredes is projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to earn $9.3 million via arbitration, so right around the midpoint between the two filings. The 26-year-old slugger slashed .254/.352/.458 with 20 long balls and 53 RBI in 438 plate appearances during his first season with the Astros.

The big surprise here is Seager since his name hasn’t come up at all in trade discussions this offseason. It’s abundantly clear that the Red Sox, who have a surplus of young big-league caliber pitching prospects to deal, are planning to upgrade at either second or third base this offseason since they’ve been active in trade discussions for multiple targets while also pursuing free agents Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette and Eugenio Suárez. Get your popcorn ready.

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.

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.

Paredes suffered a significant hamstring strain in mid-July and ended up making it back in late September, but clearly wasn’t moving around at full strength. Brown admits that, even now, Paredes is “about 65 percent recovered” from the injury, and the team believes he’ll “potentially” be ready by Opening Day. It sure sounds like he should’ve underwent surgery when the injury first occurred and not been rushed back onto the field. It’s a situation fantasy managers should monitor as the offseason goes on and it will undoubtedly tamp down his draft price.

Paredes will attempt to fill the significant void left by Yordan Alvarez’s significant ankle injury after missing two months with a severe hamstring strain. The 26-year-old third baseman’s return is a pleasant surprise for fantasy managers since there was little optimism back in mid-July that he would make it back until next spring.

At one point it seemed like the 26-year-old slugger would be lost for the season due to his severe hamstring strain, but he has made remarkable progress over the past couple of weeks to rejoin the Astros with nine games left to play. Before being shelved in mid-July, Paredes was hitting .259/.359/.470 with 19 homers and 50 RBI in his first 409 plate appearances.

Paredes will be returning from a two-month absence due to a hamstring strain, and without the benefit of a rehab assignment. The Astros, though, have the DH spot wide open for him in Yordan Alvarez’s absence. Victor Caratini will probably get less playing time with Paredes back.

He did follow that up by saying, “There’s an outside chance,” so this shouldn’t be taken as complete confirmation, but it looks like Paredes is close to a return. The 26-year-old has been out since the middle of July with a severe hamstring strain, and with Yordan Alvarez dealing with an ankle injury, Paredes’ bat would be a welcome addition to the lineup. Since Carlos Correa is now entrenched at third base, it would be likely that most of Paredes’ at-bats would come as the DH. We should keep in mind that Paredes has taken live batting practice but not true game at-bats, so it remains to be seen how quickly he can recapture his rhythm at the plate.

Brown told reporters that he’s “very confident” Paredes will be able to return before the season is through. The 26-year-old slugger has been shelved since mid-July due to a severe hamstring strain. While they aren’t going to rush him back, he would provide a major boost to the Astros’ lineup if he is indeed able to return for the postseason.