Rumor: Red Sox and Astros Engaged in Trade Talks for Isaac Paredes

[Alex Mayes]

Reportedly, the Red Sox and Astros are involved in discussions centered around Isaac Paredes in recent days. According to Matt Couture on Twitter.

The Astros are intrigued by both Brayan Bello and Jarren Duran, both names that have been floated in countless trade rumors since the beginning of the offseason. For a deal of that magnitude, though, the Red Sox are looking for more in return than just a two-for-one swap. 

Paredes makes a lot of sense as a target for the Sox and would fill a couple of different holes for the team. He’s a right-handed hitter and can play both third and second base. Either position needs to be addressed before spring training begins so Marcelo Mayer can begin working full-time at the other spot in the infield. It’s worth wondering who else the Red Sox may be targeting from the Astros to help facilitate a deal involving both Duran and Bello.

What do you think? Should the Red Sox swing for a potential blockbuster deal by including Brayan Bello and Jarren Duran for a return headlined by Isaac Paredes? Sound off in the comments below!

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[moonslav59]

I don't get many suggestions that come true. I think the last one was Cody Ross...LOL!

But Paredes makes too much sense for the Sox, and the Sox have what HOU needs. It's only a question of how much HOU likes what we have to offer and we come up with something both sides can live with.

Personally, I think Duran for Paredes and B King is a significant overpay, and I'm not sure why we should be expected to overpay. We have an OF logjam, and they have an infield logjam.

If HOU added catcher prospect Janek or their other lefty RP'er Sousa, I'd jump at the deal. Maybe we could give them DHam, if they want or even add Sandlin or Mullins or the like.

BTV says Rafaela for Paredes & BKing is closer to fair, and Abreu for the two as well.

Just get it done. We'd have a much better offensive team by trading Rafaela, but we'd be better on defense with Rafaela, and Ceddanne has way more years of control. I'd be okay with trading whichever HOU wants/demands.

Not counting Anthony...

I like Ceddanne most due to years of control and defense in a difficult Fenway position.

I like Abreu next due to great defense in Fenway's difficult RF and the extra year of control over Duran.

I like Duran third, but that is not a slight on him or his skill level. He rates to be the best batter of these 3 for 2026. (Abreu might prove me wrong.) I'm not for handing him away. I'm super high on Paredes, despite having one less year of control than Duran.

 

[moonslav59]

BTV just dropped Paredes' value from about 13 to 8.5. Makes no sense.

I can't see us giving Duran and Bello, and just one would be a gross overpay.

BTV accepts:

44 Duran, 29 Bello, 3 DHam & 2 Wong

for

39 Y Diaz, 9 Paredes, 7 King, 6 Abreu, 4 Sousa (that's their whole pen!)

 

[Jean-Sébastien Blouin]

Duran for Paredes and one prospect 

[Larry Cook]

Seems to me the Mets are in the same position as Houston as well!  

[JoeBrady]

32 minutes ago, Jean-Sébastien Blouin said:

Duran for Paredes and one prospect 

Add Matthews, Neyens or Janek and I'm probably good.

[JoeBrady]

15 minutes ago, Larry Cook said:

Seems to me the Mets are in the same position as Houston as well!  

The Mets are all over the place.  I have no idea what they are doing.  I trust Stearns, but right now, the NYM only have 16 position players on the 40-man roster.  I think 8 of them are infielders and 3 are catchers.  Their #2 outfielder is Tyrone Taylor.  It's early, but they need two more outfielders.  And unlike the Astros, the NYM are in win-now mode.  My suggestions:

• Yoshida for Semien.  I'm not sure Yoshida moves the needle for the Mets, but at least he owns an OF glove.  This assumes they play Bo at 2nd.
• Duran for McLean.  He's not in the Chandler/Burns level, but still pretty much top-shelf.  And this would allow us to include one of our pitchers in a trade.

TBH, I don't think the NYMs do either one, but they've dug themselves a hole.

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, JoeBrady said:

Add Matthews, Neyens or Janek and I'm probably good.

Prospects are fine, but they have two nice LH'd RP'ers, so why not?

[JoeBrady]

On 1/17/2026 at 11:06 PM, moonslav59 said:

Prospects are fine, but they have two nice LH'd RP'ers, so why not?

It depends on our assessment of the Astros.  Even with his K-issues, I doubt they trade Matthews.  But we could arrange it, it is entirely possible he could our starting 2B as soon as 2026.  

[notin]

On 1/17/2026 at 9:05 PM, JoeBrady said:

The Mets are all over the place.  I have no idea what they are doing.  I trust Stearns, but right now, the NYM only have 16 position players on the 40-man roster.  I think 8 of them are infielders and 3 are catchers.  Their #2 outfielder is Tyrone Taylor.  It's early, but they need two more outfielders.  And unlike the Astros, the NYM are in win-now mode.  My suggestions:

• Yoshida for Semien.  I'm not sure Yoshida moves the needle for the Mets, but at least he owns an OF glove.  This assumes they play Bo at 2nd.
• Duran for McLean.  He's not in the Chandler/Burns level, but still pretty much top-shelf.  And this would allow us to include one of our pitchers in a trade.

TBH, I don't think the NYMs do either one, but they've dug themselves a hole.

1.  The Mets need a CF, and the reason they need one is they traded their CF Nimmo in order to get Semien.  Doubtful they follow up by moving Semien for a defensively challenged corner OF.  (Side note:  Didn’t the Mets acquire Jose Siri last offseason?  Is he dead or something?)

 

2. Roster Resource has McLean penciled in ss the Mets’ opening day starter, which redefines the word “pathetic” for a team with a payroll well over $300mill.  Extremely doubtful they weaken that rotation even further by trading the top of it for a CF.  Unless their attitude is “this rotation is a flaming pile of garbage anyway”, which I doubt it is.

[mvp 78]

12 minutes ago, notin said:

1.  The Mets need a CF, and the reason they need one is they traded their CF Nimmo in order to get Semien.  Doubtful they follow up by moving Semien for a defensively challenged corner OF.  (Side note:  Didn’t the Mets acquire Jose Siri last offseason?  Is he dead or something?)

 

2. Roster Resource has McLean penciled in ss the Mets’ opening day starter, which redefines the word “pathetic” for a team with a payroll well over $300mill.  Extremely doubtful they weaken that rotation even further by trading the top of it for a CF.  Unless their attitude is “tris rotation is a flaming pile of garbage anyway”, which I doubt it is.

I don't know how well the Mets line up with the Sox for a trade. Baty is fine, but would more have to be given up if they are acquiring Duran/Rafaela? 

[notin]

53 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I don't know how well the Mets line up with the Sox for a trade. Baty is fine, but would more have to be given up if they are acquiring Duran/Rafaela? 

Absolutely.  If the Mets are acquiring 3 years of a 5 WAR player in Duran, they should give up more than 4 years of a 2 WAR player in Baty…

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, notin said:

Unless their attitude is “tris rotation is a flaming pile of garbage anyway”, which I doubt it is.

The only reason I mention it is because they have 8 SPs on the 40.  And 3 of them are just starting their careers.  It's possible that they want to reduce their risk.  Even with the 8 SPs on the 40, Peterson, Tong, and Manaea got hammered in September, and Senga & Megill were in the minors.

Just really messy.  I would start the kids, but I'm guessing that Cohen is looking for more immediate results.

[JoeBrady]

6 minutes ago, notin said:

Absolutely.  If the Mets are acquiring 3 years of a 5 WAR player in Duran, they should give up more than 4 years of a 2 WAR player in Baty…

I like Baty, but another lefty?  For the right price, I'm a fan of picking up value and blaming the manager if he can't sort it out.  But the lefty thing is a negative.

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

The only reason I mention it is because they have 8 SPs on the 40.  And 3 of them are just starting their careers.  It's possible that they want to reduce their risk.  Even with the 8 SPs on the 40, Peterson, Tong, and Manaea got hammered in September, and Senga & Megill were in the minors.

Just really messy.  I would start the kids, but I'm guessing that Cohen is looking for more immediate results.

That Manaea contract is yucky. I know certain posters on here wanted the Sox to sign him, but ewwwww.

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

I like Baty, but another lefty?  For the right price, I'm a fan of picking up value and blaming the manager if he can't sort it out.  But the lefty thing is a negative.

He wouldn't show much power here and doesn't help the goal of reducing k%. The roster could make more sense though. IDK. 

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

It depends on our assessment of the Astros.  Even with his K-issues, I doubt they trade Matthews.  But we could arrange it, it is entirely possible he could our starting 2B as soon as 2026.  

Indeed. The last podcast on sp.com talked about team matching up for trades and mentioned how the Twins are like polar opposites to the Sox on how they evaluate pitchers, and how maybe very few of our pitchers interest them. This was in discussion about us trying to trade for Kearschall.

Maybe Brez has not interest in King, Souse or the RH'er Abreu. Paredes makes $2M more than Duran and the same as Bello, so maybe we don't want Abreu's contract added, either, unless HOU takes Sandoval or Hicks (LOL).

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, notin said:

1.  The Mets need a CF, and the reason they need one is they traded their CF Nimmo in order to get Semien.  Doubtful they follow up by moving Semien for a defensively challenged corner OF.  (Side note:  Didn’t the Mets acquire Jose Siri last offseason?  Is he dead or something?)

2. Roster Resource has McLean penciled in ss the Mets’ opening day starter, which redefines the word “pathetic” for a team with a payroll well over $300mill.  Extremely doubtful they weaken that rotation even further by trading the top of it for a CF.  Unless their attitude is “this rotation is a flaming pile of garbage anyway”, which I doubt it is.

The Mets seems to have less of a plan that the fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants Sox.

I heard they plan on playing Polanco at 1B and Bichette at 3B, after talking about improving their defense before this winter started.

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, notin said:

Absolutely.  If the Mets are acquiring 3 years of a 5 WAR player in Duran, they should give up more than 4 years of a 2 WAR player in Baty…

The Mets probably want someone to take Vientos and overpay for his power. He's not a bad batter, especially to a team like the Sox looking for power, but he Ks a lot and suck at 3B D. We have 2 first basemen.

Baty is an interesting idea. He has 4 years of control. He plays 3B and 2B and has a $22M BTV. The closest Sox player is Crawford at 20 or Arias at 22, but if they need CF help, Rafaela 36 & Duran 42 would be gross overpays. I suppose we could try and expand the deal, and the Mets are a team that might take salary to get what they need and want, so BTV accepts:

Duran 42 & Hicks -18 for Baty 22

Rafaela 36 & Hicks -18 (maybe add Sandlin or Mullins) for Baty

 

[notin]

5 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

The Mets probably want someone to take Vientos and overpay for his power. He's not a bad batter, especially to a team like the Sox looking for power, but he Ks a lot and suck at 3B D. We have 2 first basemen.

Baty is an interesting idea. He has 4 years of control. He plays 3B and 2B and has a $22M BTV. The closest Sox player is Crawford at 20 or Arias at 22, but if they need CF help, Rafaela 36 & Duran 42 would be gross overpays. I suppose we could try and expand the deal, and the Mets are a team that might take salary to get what they need and want, so BTV accepts:

Duran 42 & Hicks -18 for Baty 22

Rafaela 36 & Hicks -18 (maybe add Sandlin or Mullins) for Baty

 

The Mets rotation on Roster Resource is McLean, Peterson, Holmes, Manaea snd Senga.  They need SP, too…

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

Duran 42 & Hicks -18 for Baty 22

I would take that, but it depends on whether the Mets are prioritizing efficient or effectiveness.  If they just want the most wins, this is a good move for them.  But the Hicks contract will cost them $43M with the CBT.  If they want some efficiency, they could add Tong instead of paying for Hicks.

[notin]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

The Mets seems to have less of a plan that the fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants Sox.

I heard they plan on playing Polanco at 1B and Bichette at 3B, after talking about improving their defense before this winter started.

Well, improving it over Alonso and Vientos, so… baby steps, I guess…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Red Sox Reportedly Aggressively Interested in Predicting Trade that Aligns with Line-up

(with missing link)

And now for the partial answer to this weekend's trivial question of which Red Sox Hall of Famer won the same amount of World Series rings as David Ortiz -- and yes, he was a teammate of Papi's: first name is Mike.

[mvp 78]

40 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Red Sox Reportedly Aggressively Interested in Predicting Trade that Aligns with Line-up

(with missing link)

And now for the partial answer to this weekend's trivial question of which Red Sox Hall of Famer won the same amount of World Series rings as David Ortiz -- and yes, he was a teammate of Papi's: first name is Mike.

Mike Miller

Michael Martinez

Mike Napoli

Mike Carp

Mike Aviles

Michael Bowden

Mike Cameron

Mike Lowell - not enough WS rings

Mike Timlin - CHECK

Mike Burns

Mike Holtz

Mike Myers

Mike Stanton

Mike Remlinger

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Timlin! But I blew it because he has more rings than Ortiz: two with Boston ('04, '07), two with Toronto ('92, '93). 

I only remembered him for his Foulke lore in '92, fielding and throwing to 1B for the last out... on a bunt by another future Red Sox, Otis Nixon.

[notin]

20 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Timlin! But I blew it because he has more rings than Ortiz: two with Boston ('04, '07), two with Toronto ('92, '93). 

I only remembered him for his Foulke lore in '92, fielding and throwing to 1B for the last out... on a bunt by another future Red Sox, Otis Nixon.

I was going to say Timlin had more.   But your question could have a correct answer - Mike Stanton had as many rings as Papi (Yankees in 1998, 1999, 2000).

But Stanton is not a Sox Hall of Famer…

[mvp 78]

29 minutes ago, notin said:

I was going to say Timlin had more.   But your question could have a correct answer - Mike Stanton had as many rings as Papi (Yankees in 1998, 1999, 2000).

But Stanton is not a Sox Hall of Famer…

Did Mike Lowell get a ring for his 8 games played with NYY in 98? He could have 3 rings too? 

[notin]

2 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Did Mike Lowell get a ring for his 8 games played with NYY in 98? He could have 3 rings too? 

Probably.  I think everyone gets one.  I was on a train with an old woman who answered phones for the Cubs’ customer service.  And since she had that same job in 2016, she had a World Series ring, which she was wearing.

 

So if answering the phone gets you a World Series ring, I imagine actually playing 8 games does, too…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

1 hour ago, notin said:

I was going to say Timlin had more.   But your question could have a correct answer - Mike Stanton had as many rings as Papi (Yankees in 1998, 1999, 2000).

But Stanton is not a Sox Hall of Famer…

Stanton was Rivera's lefty set-up man all those years Boston finished second.

Red Sox Hall of Shamer.

[JoeBrady]

56 minutes ago, notin said:

So if answering the phone gets you a World Series ring, I imagine actually playing 8 games does, too

I volunteered to do some work for internal auditing, since they were behind.  I bring my report in, look on the wall, and see a picture with a young lady and Papi.  I asked if he was a RS fan, this being NYC.  He said that was his daughter.  She went to a college in Boston and got an internship with the RS.  She got to go to all the parties AND got a WS ring.

She had to call her dad up for $300 because it was a taxable gift.  That might value the ring (at cost) at maybe $1,200-1,500.  For an intern.  I offered to reimburse him the $300 in exchange for the ring, but he wasn't going for it.