Houston Astros Offseason Addition Could Find Himself in Important Lineup Spot

After coming to the Houston Astros this offseason, their new slugger seems like he'll be given an important spot in the batting order.

Feb 26, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; Houston Astros third base Isaac Paredes (15) returns to the bench after striking out during the third inning against the Washington Nationals at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches / Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros need everyone to step up if they are going to defend their division crown and get back into the playoffs again with their sights set on returning to American League dominance.

Many people are having a hard time envisioning it.

Without Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, Ryan Pressly and Justin Verlander on this roster, the Astros underwent another offseason of change that featured letting impact players depart in free agency and trading away others to get pieces back in return.

While star prospect Cam Smith is getting all the attention, and rightfully so based on what he's doing this spring, the most important piece of the puzzle for Houston is Isaac Paredes, one of the featured returns in the Tucker deal who is taking over at third base for Bregman.

The slugger had a rough showing with the Chicago Cubs after being an All-Star with the Tampa Bay Rays before they shipped him out ahead of the deadline.

The Astros are hoping an offseason of work with their coaching staff will allow Paredes to turn back into the feared slugger who can also provide solid defense at the hot corner, something that would mitigate the loss of Bregman.

So far, Houston has been impressed with their new star.

In fact, it sounds like manager Joe Espada is even going to put him into an important role in the batting order, having him bat second.

"I've been liking Paredes' at-bats in the two spot. He's seeing pitches. I thought (Thursday) was a perfect example — Altuve walk, Paredes walk, here comes Yordan with traffic, single to left. I like that and if I can continue to get that approach from Paredes, I really like him in that two spot," the skipper said, per Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle.

Espada went on to say that he's still going to play around with the order in the coming days before making a definitive decision, but if Paredes keeps impressing the coaching staff, then that spot could be his.

That would be notable for one main reason.

Sabermetrics indicates teams should be putting their best hitters in the second spot of the lineup, allowing them to get more hitting opportunities while also having the ability to drive in runs with a leadoff hitter in front of them.

Jose Altuve has operated in the first spot for a while, and after he is already adjusting his defensive positioning, also changing up his spot in the order would seem to be a bridge too far.

But conventional wisdom would also suggest Yordan Alvarez would get moved into the second spot, a place he hit at times in 2024.

That could still happen, especially against right-handed pitching.

However, it seems like Paredes is going to get the majority of his at-bats in the second spot at the beginning of the year, putting him in an even greater position to impact the Astros.

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