Astros Rumors: Red Sox enter Jeremy Pena trade chatter while leveraging AL West rival

An intriguing battle of wills might be brewing, and if the Houston Astros play their hand correctly, they might be able to cash in big time. USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported that the Boston Red Sox, fresh off their acquisition of Curtis Mead, are still hunting right-handed bats. Shortstop is their top priority, and Nightengale states that Jeremy Peña and Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto are their top targets.

The jockeying for leverage is fascinating. The Red Sox believe that they can try to play the two division rivals off each other, but the Astros have an ace up their sleeve. Houston is posturing as if they're going all-in on contending, so if Peña is their preferred option, they'll need to pony up in order to change the Astros' mind.

The Angels are reportedly open to listening to offers for Neto, but that's not the same thing as actively shopping him. Neto has three additional years of team control after this season, so there's no urgency to move him. There are also rumblings that Los Angeles might not engage in a full rebuild, and could instead look to add big league talent, likely while selling off veteran rentals.

If the Angels indeed follow that path and hang on to Neto, Boston might be motivated to make the Astros an offer for Peña that the club can't refuse.

The Astros would be wise to listen to the Red Sox trade pitch for Jeremy Peña, even if it goes against their stated goals

Dana Brown's plan unequivocally is to buy at the deadline barring a disaster in the coming week. That could happen. They have a three-game series against the Angels, followed by three games against the AL West-leading Texas Rangers. If they don't take care of business against the Angels and falter against Texas, we could see them fall back far enough in the division and wild card races that they could do an about-face.

On top of that, Houston knows that one way or another they'll eventually have to trade Peña. The club has failed to come to an agreement on an extension with the star shortstop, and as a Boras client, Peña is guaranteed to test the market when he hits free agency next offseason.

That could have the Astros following the same blueprint they used with Kyle Tucker and trade Peña over the winter. But what if Boston's desperation leads to them offering a better package than what Houston can reasonably expect to receive during an offseason filled with labor uncertainty?

If the Red Sox offer a package headlined by super prospect Franklin Arias, the Astros would be fools not to think long and hard about pivoting and embracing a rebuild. Arias is MLB Pipeline's No. 7 prospect, and the 20-year-old has been on fire this year, hitting .309/.396/.570 with 19 dingers. He just got promoted to Triple-A and isn't all that far from the bigs, despite his young age.

This could shape up to be an interesting battle of wills, with both sides jockeying for position. If the Astros swallow their pride and play their cards right, they could end up winning big, even if it means doing something they are loath to do and waving the white flag on the 2026 season.

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