Luis Arraez deal with Giants just complicated Astros trade plans for Isaac Paredes

The longer we go without a resolution to the Houston Astros' infield logjam, the more it seems that manager Joe Espada might not be blowing smoke when he claims that the All-Star infielder will be in the mix for playing time at second base as well as the cold corner.

Or, at the very least, the longer Isaac Paredes hangs out on the trade block, the lower the return will be for him. Unless Jim Crane has changed his tune about crossing into the luxury tax, someone is going to have to be shipped out. Ideally, that's Christian Walker, but in practice, Paredes is the more attractive trade bait by a mile.

The longer this drags on, the more clubs will bow out of the Paredes discussions as they find other options. In some cases, that sort of maneuvering will shake loose another candidate that can threaten the market for the Astros slugger.

That might be the case as three-time batting champ Luis Arraez agreed to a deal with the Giants. Arraez is one of the most unique players in the game, as his contact skills are otherworldly, but everything else he brings to the table is average or worse. Defensively, he's been a nomad, but he reportedly prioritized signing with a club that would let him play second base. That means that by heading to the Bay Area, he may have just made versatile infielder Casey Schmitt a prime trade chip.

Luis Arraez signing with the Giants could force Casey Schmitt to the trade block, cutting off the Astros' Isaac Paredes leverage

There are still infield-needy teams around the league, but there is also no shortage of solutions being dangled on the market. There's Brendan Donovan, who is both a competitor in the Paredes market and someone the Astros have had their eye on. There's Nico Hoerner, who brings defensive excellence to the middle infield positions. And now, there's Schmitt.

Schmitt is far less established than Paredes, Donovan, or Hoerner, but he will have some real appeal. Donovan and Hoerner are both contact-mavens with modest power. To this point, if you were a rival club looking to add some thump to your infield via trade, it was Paredes or bust.

Schmitt's home run totals won't wow you, but he hasn't played more than 95 games in a season to this point in his young career. What he has done, though, is flash power. His .163 ISO last year was above average, and in a smaller sample of just 113 plate appearances, he showed off even more juice with a .224 number. In contrast, Paredes posted a .204 ISO in 2025, showing off his ability to abuse the Crawford Boxes, but posted a .155 mark in 2024.

Schmitt also brings enhanced versatility to the table. Last season, he played 18 or more games at first base, second base, and third base, and he also has some experience at shortstop over his career. Paredes has some multi-positional experience, but much of that is in the past. The idea of running him out at second base now is more out of necessity than capitalizing on any strategic advantage, as it's a position that he hasn't played since he logged 97 innings at the keystone back in 2023. Even his experience at first has been limited.

Finally, there's a cost benefit to Schmitt. While both he and Paredes turn 27 in the coming weeks, the Giants' utility man comes with two additional years of team control. He's also yet to hit arbitration, so he'll be making at least $8 million less in 2026 alone than Paredes.

Of the two, Paredes is clearly more accomplished, but the other benefits and cheaper cost of acquisition for Schmitt could have teams leaning in his direction should San Francisco truly make him available. That puts the Astros in the dicey position of trading Paredes for less than he's worth just to clear salary, or making some other tough decision to get their books in order.