{"id":143799,"date":"2026-01-22T15:34:33","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T15:34:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799"},"modified":"2026-01-22T15:34:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T15:34:33","slug":"red-sox-eye-astros-trade-that-could-solve-major-infield-puzzle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799","title":{"rendered":"Red Sox Eye Astros Trade That Could Solve Major Infield Puzzle"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

IMAGE: Houston Astros designated hitter Isaac Paredes (15) reacts after striking out during the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Daikin Park. \/ Troy Taormina \/ Imagn Images<\/div>\n

The Boston Red Sox are back in the thick of offseason maneuvering, and this time, they\u2019re not just browsing-they\u2019re eyeing real opportunity. With the Houston Astros dealing with a crowded infield picture, Boston may be in position to capitalize.<\/p>\n

Around the league, there\u2019s a growing belief that Houston will need to make a move. The math just doesn\u2019t work: too many capable infielders, not enough spots to go around.<\/p>\n

When a contender like the Astros starts feeling that kind of roster squeeze, trade talks tend to heat up quickly. And that\u2019s where the Red Sox enter the conversation.<\/p>\n

\"Isaac<\/p>\n

One name that\u2019s surfaced in connection with this potential reshuffling is Isaac Paredes, a two-time All-Star who fits the mold of what Boston is looking for. Paredes isn\u2019t just a power bat-he\u2019s a disciplined hitter with a swing that plays in any park.<\/p>\n

Last season, he launched 19 home runs before the All-Star break and posted one of the best walk rates in the American League. He brings steady, reliable value-splitting time between third base and DH-and he does it without the volatility that often comes with power-first profiles.<\/p>\n

With Alex Bregman no longer in the picture for Houston, Paredes is a logical candidate to take on a larger role-or become a trade chip. Meanwhile, Boston, fresh off locking in lefty Ranger Su\u00e1rez and signaling a longer-term competitive window, could be a natural landing spot.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s even been chatter about a potential framework involving outfielder Jarren Duran, a controllable piece who fits Houston\u2019s usual preference for long-term assets. It\u2019s early, but the outlines of a deal make sense on paper.<\/p>\n

While the front office works the phones, the Red Sox might already have found a low-key solution to one of their more pressing roster needs-this time, from within. As spring approaches, all eyes are on Shane Drohan, a left-hander who could help shore up a bullpen that\u2019s currently light on southpaws.<\/p>\n

Boston made rotation depth a priority this winter, adding Su\u00e1rez, Sonny Gray, and Johan Oviedo to back up ace Garrett Crochet. That gives them a solid foundation of starters.<\/p>\n

But when it comes to left-handed relief, the cupboard is surprisingly bare. As of now, Aroldis Chapman is the only proven lefty reliever on the 40-man roster.<\/p>\n

Enter Drohan. The Red Sox protected the 24-year-old from the Rule 5 Draft this offseason, and for good reason.<\/p>\n

He was lights-out at Triple-A Worcester in 2025, posting a 2.27 ERA, a 35.2% strikeout rate, and holding opponents to a .185 average. That kind of dominance gets noticed-especially when it comes from the left side.<\/p>\n

What makes Drohan particularly valuable is his flexibility. He\u2019s made it clear he\u2019s willing to contribute wherever needed, whether that\u2019s as a starter or in the bullpen. And with Boston\u2019s current roster construction, that kind of versatility could make all the difference come Opening Day.<\/p>\n

Between exploring trade opportunities and evaluating in-house talent, the Red Sox are clearly staying aggressive this offseason. Whether it\u2019s a high-upside bat like Paredes or a breakout arm like Drohan, Boston seems intent on tightening the screws in all the right places.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IMAGE: Houston Astros designated hitter Isaac Paredes (15) reacts after striking out during the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Daikin Park. \/ Troy Taormina \/… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":143800,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-143799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nRed Sox Eye Astros Trade That Could Solve Major Infield Puzzle - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Red Sox Eye Astros Trade That Could Solve Major Infield Puzzle - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"IMAGE: Houston Astros designated hitter Isaac Paredes (15) reacts after striking out during the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Daikin Park. \/ Troy Taormina \/...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-22T15:34:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Rinrin-6-4.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"XuanTan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"XuanTan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799\",\"name\":\"Red Sox Eye Astros Trade That Could Solve Major Infield Puzzle - NEWS USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Rinrin-6-4.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-22T15:34:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-22T15:34:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ac862d5ceb335ec8f1e374ed4bdb0c06\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Rinrin-6-4.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Rinrin-6-4.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Red Sox Eye Astros Trade That Could Solve Major Infield Puzzle\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"NEWS USA\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ac862d5ceb335ec8f1e374ed4bdb0c06\",\"name\":\"XuanTan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f0d0d8858cf9c64fc1f3105c62cff269864cf9a26f88149688bdf4dc953df45?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f0d0d8858cf9c64fc1f3105c62cff269864cf9a26f88149688bdf4dc953df45?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"XuanTan\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Red Sox Eye Astros Trade That Could Solve Major Infield Puzzle - NEWS USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Red Sox Eye Astros Trade That Could Solve Major Infield Puzzle - NEWS USA","og_description":"IMAGE: Houston Astros designated hitter Isaac Paredes (15) reacts after striking out during the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Daikin Park. \/ Troy Taormina \/...","og_url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799","og_site_name":"NEWS USA","article_published_time":"2026-01-22T15:34:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Rinrin-6-4.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"XuanTan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"XuanTan","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799","name":"Red Sox Eye Astros Trade That Could Solve Major Infield Puzzle - NEWS USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Rinrin-6-4.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-22T15:34:33+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-22T15:34:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ac862d5ceb335ec8f1e374ed4bdb0c06"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Rinrin-6-4.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Rinrin-6-4.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=143799#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Red Sox Eye Astros Trade That Could Solve Major Infield Puzzle"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/","name":"NEWS USA","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ac862d5ceb335ec8f1e374ed4bdb0c06","name":"XuanTan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f0d0d8858cf9c64fc1f3105c62cff269864cf9a26f88149688bdf4dc953df45?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f0d0d8858cf9c64fc1f3105c62cff269864cf9a26f88149688bdf4dc953df45?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"XuanTan"},"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=143799"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":143801,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143799\/revisions\/143801"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/143800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=143799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=143799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=143799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}