The early returns on the Houston Astros' trade for Isaac Paredes were really, really good. In the first half of the 2025 season, Paredes had posted an .826 OPS, and he made his second All-Star team. Given that he was only part of the return for one year of Kyle Tucker, Houston was feeling great about the move, even with Cam Smith scuffling a bit in the majors. However, disaster struck almost immediately after the All-Star break.
After suffering a severe hamstring strain in July, there were immediate short-term concerns about the state of the Astros' roster, and those concerns have bled into the offseason.