Jeremy Peña's breakout has Jose Altuve's comments echoing through Astros front office

Jose Altuve can add prognosticator to his long list of accolades. The Houston Astros outfielder went to bat for his teammate Jeremy Peña earlier this season, urging the front office to sign the shortstop to a contract extension. The Astros' front office is probably wishing they would've listened to Altuve because now that long-term deal is going to cost even more.

Peña is enjoying a breakout season in 2025. The Astros' infielder is hitting .297/.363/.445 with seven home runs, 27 RBI, 28 runs scored, and seven stolen bases. His 2.2 fWAR is tops on the team, and his 133 wRC+ trails only Isaac Paredes (144 wRC+).

Peña, 27, is in the first year of his arbitration window. The young infielder is taking home $4.1 million this season, and is under team control through 2027. After watching players like Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, and George Springer exit during free agency, and with Framber Valdez about to follow them out the door, it's imperative for Houston to lock up their young shortstop for the foreseeable future.

The Astros need to negotiate a long-term contract with shortstop Jeremy Peña

Three shortstops received contract extensions in 2024. Ceddane Rafeala, Ezequiel Tovar, and Bobby Witt Jr. all received hefty raises from their respective teams. All three, however, were pre-arbitration eligible and much younger than Peña. Frankly, there aren't any recent extensions involving shortstops that provide a good comp for Peña, though his representation and the Astros' brass can undoubtedly work toward finding common ground on a multi-year deal.

It's not as if the Astros have a Plan B behind Peña in the minor leagues. Top prospect Brice Matthews offers a lot of promise, but the former first-round pick would seem to be ticketed for second base rather than shortstop. Unless Houston is able to nab a college shortstop in this year's MLB Draft, their options behind Peña are rather bleak at the moment.

While in-season negotiations are rare, they're not unheard of. Houston is probably wishing that they'd have agreed to a long-term deal with Peña during spring training, but that opportunity has passed. The Astros have a bad habit of allowing these contract situations to linger, and with every passing moment, the impending deal gets larger and larger.

Altuve tried to intervene, but Houston's front office didn't listen. Peña's strong showing in 2025 is the best indicator to date that he should be part of the organization's long-term plans. Whether it gets done now or in the future, there's little doubt that Houston must find a way to keep Peña in an Astros uniform.

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