Astros can't ignore Jeremy Pena trade buzz that's getting louder thanks to Jeff Passan

Dana Brown might not want to consider it. Jim Crane certainly doesn't want to accept it. The fact of the matter, though, is that with each passing day, the Houston Astros' future as a team that should be selling at the trade deadline becomes clearer and clearer. The Astros might not yet want to do a full teardown, but at a minimum, they need to strongly consider moving on from players who clearly don't have a long-term future with the team.

One such player, as Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel point out, who should be on the move is Jeremy Peña. Peña ranks third on ESPN's list of the top 100 trade candidates, showing his immense value coming in behind only Tarik Skubal and Byron Buxton on the rankings.

The 28-year-old star shortstop fits the bill as a player without a long-term future in Houston. Though he is under team control through 2027, Houston fumbled extension talks before Scott Boras came into the picture. Now it's highly unlikely that Peña re-ups to stay in the Space City unless the Astros are the highest bidder once he hits the open market. Don't bet on that.

Trading Jeremy Peña now is the Astros' best course of action, regardless of how aggressively they sell off assets

While it is true that the Astros could go the Kyle Tucker route with Peña, there are some different circumstances this go-around that could end up nuking the potential return.

The first has to do with labor uncertainty. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is set to expire on December 1. As of now, the majority of players expect that the contentious negotiations won't be resolved by that date, resulting in a lockout. Even if it doesn't, the prospect of a salary cap being imposed could handcuff certain big-market teams from making moves.

A shrinking market and the prospect of playing fewer games due to a labor stoppage in his final year of team control will ensure the package Houston could receive would be less than if the acquiring team could have Peña's help for the stretch run and postseason in 2026.

Then there's the matter of the former third-round pick's performance and injury history. It took three full years for him to fully breakout offensively after being just about a league-average hitter to begin his career, but last season's stellar 135 wRC+ has taken a hit so far this year, sitting at 113 as of June 17. That's better than the roughly 100 mark he posted for the first three years of his career.

Another issue to contend with is Peña's health. He missed 31 games due to a left rib fracture and a left oblique strain, the latter of which occurred with only four games remaining in the regular season. He's been on the IL twice already this year for a total of 32 games due to a fractured fingertip suffered during the World Baseball Classic warmups and, later on, a hamstring strain.

Another lengthy injury could tank his value, and the longer the Astros hold on to him, especially given their inability to keep players healthy, the more pause opposing teams will have in acquiring him.

Passan and McDaniel note that there aren't many teams with a need at shortstop this season, though that could always change as injuries crop up closer to the deadline. Houston knows this full well, as third base wasn't a need for the club last year until Isaac Paredes went down in July, facilitating the need to trade for Carlos Correa.

Even as things stand now, there's a case to be made for several teams to get involved in the Peña sweepstakes. The Braves, Blue Jays, Yankees, Rays, and Red Sox are all listed by ESPN as potential fits, and one could argue that there are even more teams out there who could be interested.

Waiting until the offseason just breeds more uncertainty and the potential for a lower return; therefore, even if it's against their nature, it would behoove the Astros to strike while the iron is hot and trade Peña at this year's deadline.

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