Remember him? Phillies should pursue their 2022 World Series nemesis originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Baseball players are taught to have short memories. Executives, whose job is to remember which players fit their roster and why, do not have that luxury.
Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies’ front-office should remember Jeremy Peña quite well.
As a rookie in 2022, Peña hit .400 against them in the World Series, led both teams with 10 hits and became the first rookie position player to win World Series MVP. He recorded a hit in all six games, homered in Game 5 and helped end the Phillies’ unexpected October run.
Four years later, the player who tormented Philadelphia could give its lineup several of the elements it now lacks.
Peña hits fastballs, runs well, bats right-handed and has spent most of the last two seasons leading off for Houston. He also plays shortstop, a position where the Phillies have already acknowledged that their long-term arrangement is no longer certain.
There is no indication that the Astros have made their 29-year-old available. There is enough uncertainty surrounding Peña’s future, though, that Houston should be one of Dombrowski’s first calls this winter.
How does he fit?
The industry has spent the last few weeks discussing the style of baseball that carried Milwaukee and Tampa Bay to the World Series. Both clubs were athletic, played strong defense and consistently forced opponents to complete plays. Toronto reached the World Series a year earlier with baseball’s lowest strikeout rate and another lineup built around making contact.
Power did not disappear from any of those offenses. Their success simply reinforced the value of pairing it with speed, contact and the ability to pressure a defense.
That showed up in how the Brewers and Rays handled velocity. Milwaukee led the majors with a .283 average in plate appearances that ended with fastballs. Tampa Bay ranked fifth at .272. Both also finished among baseball’s five most active teams on the bases.
The Phillies went in the other direction against fastballs. Their .268 average ranked second in 2025 before falling to .261, which ranked 17th, last season.
Peña would directly address that decline.
Among the 149 major-league hitters who had at least 500 plate appearances end with a fastball over the last two seasons, none produced a higher batting average than Peña’s .348. He also recorded a .953 OPS in those situations.
His .367 batting average on balls in play against fastballs during that span provides additional context. Peña’s production was not carried entirely by home runs or an overwhelming exit-velocity profile. He consistently put velocity in play and turned that contact into hits, with his speed giving him another way to beat a defense.
That has been a theme throughout his career. Peña’s underlying metrics have rarely been flashy. He has not consistently ranked among the league leaders in average exit velocity, hard-hit rate, barrels or walks, but he has remained productive without dominating those categories.
Peña followed an All-Star 2025 season, when he hit .304 with an .840 OPS, 17 home runs and 20 stolen bases, by batting .277 with an .802 OPS and 22 homers in 112 games last year. A fractured fingertip, hamstring strain and calf strain limited him, but he still matched his career high in home runs.
The speed remained, too. Even during an injury-interrupted season, Peña’s 29.3 feet-per-second sprint speed ranked in the 93rd percentile. He stole 20 bases in both 2024 and 2025 before finishing with 12 last season.
That would fit the style Don Mattingly wants to establish during his first full season as manager. Mattingly said he wants the Phillies to “play faster” and specifically mentioned wanting Trea Turner and Bryson Stott to become more aggressive on the bases.
Peña could give that idea some substance while offering another option atop the order.
The Phillies have used both Kyle Schwarber and Turner extensively in the leadoff spot. Peña would provide a more traditional alternative without forcing Mattingly to commit to it every day. Houston moved Peña to the top of its lineup in 2025, when he produced an .873 OPS across 96 games there, and returned him to the spot for nearly all of 2026.
Adding Peña would also force the Phillies to address their infield before Turner’s defense becomes a daily discussion in spring training.
Dombrowski has already said Turner must show that he can remain at shortstop. Turner finished with minus-10 Outs Above Average and tied for the major-league lead with 21 errors last season.
“If he plays shortstop like he did in ’25, he can play shortstop,” Dombrowski said last month. “But if he plays it like he did in ’26, he can’t.”
Peña has not been a model of defensive consistency, either. He won a Gold Glove as a rookie and finished with eight OAA in 2025 before falling to minus-6 last season. His range metrics have moved in both directions throughout his career.
He is still four years younger than Turner and remains one of baseball’s fastest players. That athleticism gives Peña a stronger chance of staying at shortstop through his next contract.
If the Phillies acquired him, Turner could move to second base or the outfield. Stott could remain at second or shift to third, where he received extended work after the Luis Arraez trade. Aidan Miller could continue developing without the organization depending on him to reach Philadelphia immediately.
Rather than waiting to see whether Turner’s defense creates a problem, the Phillies would enter camp with several ways to arrange their infield.
Why Houston could listen
Peña is entering his final year of arbitration after earning $9.475 million in 2026. MLB Trade Rumors projects him to receive approximately $13.1 million next season, and he can become a free agent following the 2027 World Series.
The Astros have already tried to prevent him from reaching this point.
Houston and Peña held serious extension talks during the 2025 season, with the sides reportedly discussing a five-year contract worth more than $105 million. Those negotiations stalled after Peña changed his representation to Scott Boras, and no agreement followed.
New Astros general manager Randy Flores inherited three options: make another attempt at an extension, allow Peña to play out his final season or trade him while his value remains high.
Houston faced the same decision with Kyle Tucker two winters ago. Rather than risk losing him after his final year of club control, the Astros traded Tucker to the Cubs for third baseman Isaac Paredes, pitcher Hayden Wesneski and top prospect Cam Smith.
Peña would not command the same return as Tucker, who had developed into one of baseball’s best all-around outfielders. The situation is similar enough to create a conversation.
The Astros are attempting to remain competitive while replenishing a farm system that has not produced at the same level it did during the organization’s championship run. They also have a crowded infield with Peña, Paredes, Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and Christian Walker.
Trading Paredes could resolve that congestion. Peña, however, would bring the stronger return.
What could a trade cost?
Aidan Miller should not be included for one guaranteed season of Peña. He remains the Phillies’ best position-player prospect and could become a central part of their next core.
Bryan Rincon would be the more logical prospect centerpiece.
The 22-year-old switch-hitter broke out at Double-A Reading by hitting .267 with a .410 on-base percentage, 26 home runs and 30 stolen bases. He entered MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 and won the Paul Owens Award as the Phillies’ top minor-league position player.
Rincon’s glove was his strongest attribute before his offensive breakout. He has the hands, arm and instincts to remain at shortstop, giving Houston a possible successor to Peña while adding a player who could reach the majors relatively soon.
The Astros would likely seek major-league help in addition to Rincon.
Brandon Marsh would address an immediate weakness for a Houston outfield that struggled throughout 2026. He can play all three spots and would help the Astros remain competitive while Flores begins reshaping their roster, although Marsh is also only under club control through 2027.
Orion Kerkering would provide a different type of return. The right-hander struggled badly enough to be optioned late last season, but he remains inexpensive and controllable. A change of scenery could help him rediscover the slider that made him one of the Phillies’ most dependable relievers in 2025.
A discussion could begin with Rincon and one of those major-league players, with another lower-level prospect completing the package. If Houston demanded Miller or a return closer to what it received for Tucker, the Phillies should move elsewhere.
Their willingness to surrender significant young talent should also depend on whether they believe Peña can be extended. Paying a substantial price for one season would be difficult to justify. Acquiring a 29-year-old shortstop and keeping him through the early portion of their next core would be a different investment.
The current free-agent infield market has useful players, but it does not offer an everyday shortstop with Peña’s combination of speed, fastball production and postseason experience.
Peña is not a flawless target. His chase and strikeout rates increased last season, his defense slipped and the Phillies would initially be trading for only one guaranteed year.
He would still address several of their needs while allowing them to retain Miller and move Turner before his defense forces their hand.
The Phillies already know what Peña can do in October. This winter, they should find out what it would take to put him at shortstop and atop their lineup.
