Jeremy

Pena

Peña will sit out Sunday’s regular-season finale after Houston was eliminated from postseason contention earlier this weekend. The 28-year-old shortstop was in the midst of the strongest season of his career before a rib issue put him on the shelf for over a month just before the All-Star break. He finishes with a robust .304/.363/.477 triple-slash line with 68 runs scored, 17 homers, 62 RBI and 20 steals in just 125 games.

While he’s making progress in his recovery from a left oblique issue, he’s still not ready to return. It’s possible if the Astros get officially eliminated from the playoff race over the weekend that he’ll just be shut down completely.

Peña has been doing some swinging. He’d probably be shut down from baseball activities right now if it weren’t late September, but he’s still holding out some hope of playing this weekend. Mauricio Dubón is starting at shortstop today.

Peña remains without a clear return timetable as he battles a lingering left oblique issue. The 28-year-old top-of-the-order table-setter’s absence has some serious ramifications for the Astros who sit one game behind the Mariners in the AL West and also trail the Tigers and Guardians by a game for the final AL Wild Card playoff spot. It’ll be Carlos Correa taking over at shortstop in his ongoing absence with Ramón Urías at the hot corner in this one.

Peña’s ongoing absence due to left oblique soreness complicates Houston’s path to the postseason as they battle with Boston and Cleveland for one of the final two AL Wild Card playoff berths. The 28-year-old shortstop has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball recently, batting .329 (11-for-29) with two homers and eight RBI over his last seven games. It’ll be Mauricio Dubón filling in at shortstop with Jose Altuve moving up to the leadoff spot in his absence.

It’s a tough break for the Astros and for fantasy managers. The Astros are hopeful that it’s a day-to-day type of injury, but obliques are known to be notoriously tricky and it wouldn’t be surprising to see his absence extend into next week. Expect the Astros to provide an update on his status after Sunday’s game concludes.

He also singled and walked. The slam, which brought the Astros within two runs in the seventh, ended up accounting for all of the Astros’ scoring tonight. It was his 17th homer in 125 games. After disappointing with 10 homers in 2023 and 15 in 2024, he likely would have approached his career high of 22 from his rookie season had he remained healthy this year.

Peña got the Astros started with a double off Jacob deGrom to lead-off the game which led to a two-run first and got the better of deGrom again in the fifth with a homer. That gave Peña 30 doubles, 16 homers, and an .838 OPS on the season in what’s been the best year of his career by far.

Peña reached in all five of his plate appearances, starting with a base hit in the first inning before scoring on a sacrifice fly. He added another hit and runs scored in the third and collected his third hit of the day in the fourth. Peña later drew a walk in the sixth and was hit by a pitch to reach for the fifth time in the eighth. The 27-year-old shortstop has had an incredible season at the dish, slashing .304/.363/.466 with 15 homers, 65 runs scored, 57 RBI, and 20 steals across 530 plate appearances.

The dynamic 27-year-old shortstop delivered a two-run double off of Bryce Elder in the second inning that extended the Astros’ advantage to 3-0. That would be his only hit on the night, but it was more than enough run support for Hunter Brown and company. Peña is having a terrific season at the plate, slashing .299/.357/.463 with 15 homers, 56 RBI and 20 stolen bases.