The Houston Astros have a crowded third base picture heading into 2027, and the Isaac Paredes 2027 option decision sits at the center of it. Paredes carries a $13.35 million club option for next season, and Carlos Correa remains under contract through 2028 on the six-year, $200 million deal he signed with the Minnesota Twins. Both players are controllable, both can play third base, and Houston can realistically commit everyday reps to only one of them.
The simplest read favors Paredes. The more complicated read involves money, health history and a general manager who was not around when either contract was signed.
The Case For Exercising Paredes’ Option
Paredes took over as Houston’s everyday third baseman after Correa suffered a season-ending ankle injury in early May 2026, and he made the most of the opportunity. He started 135 of his 155 games at the position, finished second on the Astros in OPS-plus (127), RBIs (94) and bWAR (4.0) behind only Yordan Alvarez, and set career highs with 147 hits, a 72.8% contact rate and a 27.9% line-drive rate.
He also hit 25 home runs and posted a batting run value of 27 per Baseball Savant, which ranked 15th among 300 qualified major league hitters. A $13.35 million option for that kind of production reads as inexpensive, which is why one outlet called picking it up a “no-brainer.”
Correa’s Return Complicates The Position
Correa is still owed significant money and still holds a roster spot at a position Paredes now occupies. Houston will pay $20.5 million of the $31,833,333 Correa is due in 2027, with the Twins covering the rest under the terms of his deal, which also includes team options starting in 2029 that can vest based on plate appearances or awards. Correa turned 32 last month and has appeared in just 397 of a possible 648 games since the start of 2023, a durability pattern that factored into Correa losing the third base job to Paredes in the first place after the Astros brought him back at the 2025 trade deadline.
Correa was an All-Star shortstop candidate before, making 20 of 32 starts at shortstop in 2026 prior to his injury. If Houston wants him back in the field regularly, third base is the most logical landing spot given Jeremy Peña’s hold on shortstop, which pushes Paredes out rather than Correa.
Payroll And Platform Year Stakes
Houston’s third basemen combined ranked third in the majors in OPS (.825) and fifth in wins above replacement (4.1) in 2026, a number inflated largely by Paredes’ individual production. Trading Paredes, who is 27 and a two-time All-Star, ahead of his final season of club control would let the Astros recoup value now rather than risk losing him for nothing after 2027. Sporting News writer Chandler Rome framed the roster math this way: “Trading Jeremy Peña could help solve it, but if the Astros want to keep their homegrown shortstop, parting with [Isaac] Paredes would allow Correa to reprise his role as Houston’s third baseman and net a decent return before Paredes’ platform year.”
That framing treats Paredes as the likelier trade chip of the two, not because his 2026 season was lacking, but because his $13.35 million option is far cheaper to retain or to attach in a deal than Correa’s remaining salary obligation.
The Counterpoint: Paredes’ Underlying Numbers
Not every indicator points to a seamless outcome for Paredes. His hard-hit rate ranked in the bottom 10% of hitters in 2026 even as his surface stats climbed, a gap that suggests his production leaned on plate discipline and contact quality rather than raw power. He did average the most pitches per plate appearance among qualified hitters and posted the American League’s eighth-lowest strikeout rate, skills that can hold up across different roles or ballparks. Still, a club evaluating whether to build around him or trade him has to weigh whether a low hard-hit rate is a red flag heading into his age-28 platform year.
Leadership Change Adds Uncertainty
The Astros parted ways with general manager Dana Brown and manager Joe Espada after the 2026 season, which means neither the front office nor the dugout leadership that watched Paredes’ breakout will make the call. Houston also won the AL West with an 81-81 record in 2026, an unusually modest mark for a division winner that leaves little margin for a new baseball operations group to get roster decisions wrong. For more on the coaching change, see Joe Espada’s exit from Houston.
What To Watch Next
Houston must decide by the option deadline whether to retain Paredes at $13.35 million, and that decision will shape whether Correa slides back to third base or whether the Astros instead look to move Peña, as Rome’s analysis raises as an alternative path. Either direction reshapes the infield for 2027, and the hire of a new general manager will likely be the first signal of which way Houston leans. Readers can track the broader Astros offseason, including recent on-field results against division and league rivals, through Total Apex Sports’ continuing coverage of the Astros’ 2026 season and their matchups with the Yankees.
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