Not so long ago, the A’s and Houston Astros used to make trades with each other fairly frequently. There was the Chris Carter, Max Stassi and Brad Peacock for Jed Lowrie trade in 2013, or the 2015 trade that also landed Lowrie with the A’s. The green and gold have also shipped over Scott Kazmir in 2015, and acquired Ramón Laureano from Houston in 2017.
There was a lot of movement between the two clubs for a few years, but that has largely stopped in recent seasons. The most recent move has been the A’s adding Brandon Bielak for cash considerations in 2024.
The Astros have some roster shaping to take care of this winter, with too many players at certain positions, and not enough at others. After acquiring Carlos Correa at the Trade Deadline, he’ll be taking over at third base for the club, but that also puts Isaac Paredes in a roaming defensive role, which isn’t exactly the best for his subpar glove.
They can’t just slot him at DH full-time, since Yordan Alvarez and an aging Jose Altuve will need their time there to stay fresh over the course of the season. Houston is also interested in acquiring second baseman Brendan Donovan from the St. Louis Cardinals, which would further limit the options available to them to play Paredes.
The clearest option for them would be to trade first baseman Christian Walker, who had a league average age-34 season. He hit .238 with a .297 OBP and hit 27 home runs in 154 games. He also has two years of team control at $20 million each. That’s going to be a little more difficult to move than Paredes’ deal.
The pull-happy Paredes is set to earn an estimated $9.3 million in 2026, with a final year of arbitration in 2027. That seems like a contract that could move a little easier.
The big question at play here is whether or not the A’s and Astros would make a deal like this. This trade would help clear some clutter in the lineup for Houston, but would also help out a divisional rival that will be eyeing a leap up in the AL West standings in 2026.
The short answer is probably no on the surface. However, given that Paredes could fit what the A’s are after, given his low strikeout rate (17.4%) and high walk rate (11.4%) this past season, they could be willing to overpay a touch for his services. Plus, he hit 20 home runs and they would be adding a decent-sized piece of a key opponent’s offense.
With some of those added bonuses, perhaps the A’s would be willing to overpay a little bit in a potential trade, which could get a deal done despite these two club competing against one another.
Looking at Houston’s biggest needs for this winter, they’re going to be after pitching, both to help replace Framber Valdez and bolster their bullpen. The A’s could use pitching as well, but they also have a slew of young arms that they don’t have enough room to give everyone an opportunity. Perhaps moving one of those arms, plus another piece could get a deal done here.
The Astros have Hunter Brown to lead the rotation, while the A’s are more after their own top-end starter this winter. They have a number of mid-rotation options for others to consider, howver.
Houston could probably take their pick of arms between Brady Basso, J.T. Ginn, Gunnar Hoglund, Mason Barnett, Mitch Spence or Joey Estes. Each of those players has been on the A’s top prospect list at some point, and they have all also shown glimpses of their potential in the big leagues. Basso, Ginn and Hoglund were all limited by injuries in 2025, but may have the most upside of the group.
If the A’s offered one of those arms, which comes with plenty of team control, and packaged them with someone like Brett Harris, who is a sterling defensive third baseman with a bat on the way, perhaps that could get a deal close to working for both sides.
The A’s may need to include another piece in there too, since Paredes is more established than the two players headed to Houston in this hypothetical, but at the same time, the Astros would be saving money and getting a lot of team control over their quality return pieces.
The bright side for the A’s here would be that Harris would become expendable with the addition of Paredes anyway, while the pitcher that Houston selects would be either a key depth piece or a member of the big-league bullpen, but they aren’t an irreplaceable piece of the team.
The A’s could also include a lower level prospect or a relief pitcher in this deal. Houston could use more relievers (all team can use more at this time of the year), so including Tyler Ferguson, Michael Kelly or Elvis Alvarado could really sweeten the pot. All three are viewed as potential late-inning arms for the A’s, and all three are pre-arb.
Including one of those arms may be too far from the A’s standpoint, however. Perhaps a prospect like Kenya Huggins, a hard-throwing reliever that is likely set for Double-A in 2026 could suffice instead.
If the two teams were to come together on a trade, this is a potential framework for how that would look that would both help both clubs in certain ways, while also hurting them in another. It’s the kind of deal you make with a divisional foe. For the A’s to take that next step, they may have to go the trade route, and Paredes would be a solid pickup.
