Insider drops HUGE Yankees Trade Report...

The last time the New York Yankees and Houston Astros made a trade, the Yankees got Brian McCann. That was 10 years ago. Since then, Houston has won four American League pennants and two World Series titles. One of them in 2017 is the one that the Yankees feel like was stolen from them. Now the Astros are an organization in transition. They won the AL West this year, but let's be real, that team was not good. And it opens the door that has been shut for a decade. And the timing could not be better for New York. The Yankees have holes to fill this winter. Third base and And middle infield are the loudest. And a team that needs help is the best trade partner a team with pitching could ask for. Two Astros infielders could walk through it. Isaac Paredes, a bat that barely strikes out, and Jeremy Peña, a World Series MVP who was elite with the glove just last year. Baseball Savant has the numbers on it, and they'll tell you exactly what each one would fix on this episode of Yankees Digest. Now a Yankees insider in Chris Kershner has dropped a crazy report as it takes two sides to make a deal. So we're going to start with Houston. The Yankees were interested in Kyle Tucker before the Astros sent him to the Cubs in the 2024-2025 offseason. And then Houston did have little interest in dealing him to the Yankees. That tells you how much has changed. When a team is built to win, it holds on to its best hitters. When a team is in transition, every player becomes a piece it can move. Winning the division was one thing for Houston, and being a good team was another. But now the Astros need help, and they can't afford to pass up a chance to deal with any of the 29 clubs. They need pitching, and the Yankees have pitching in spades. They also have an infield roster crunch because Carlos Correa is coming back. That means Paredes or Pena could be moved. Fans see the same thing. Andrew Joseph wrote on our channel. Catcher, second baseman, third baseman, center fielder. Closer. That's about it. Funny and not far off. Third base is exactly where Paredes plays. So, a trade fits on paper. Now, which of these two do you actually want? Paredes or Pena? Tell me in the comments and keep watching because the numbers, they might go ahead and change your answer. We're going to start with Paredes right here. In 2026, he hit a .262 with a .360 on base percentage and a 447 slugging percentage for an 807 OPS. His weighted on base percentage was a 355. Now, that number sells it. His strikeout rate was at 13.4%, down from 17.4 in 2025, and he still walks 10.8% of the time. He doesn't strike out much, he takes his walks, and he slugs above average. That is the type of hitter that the Yankees have been begging for, a real leadoff guy. And look at 2025 next with .254, .352, and .458. An .810 OPS weighted on base Of .353, that's the same hitter, a .353 WOBA one year and a .355 the next. It's steady, and steady is what you want from a bat in the middle of your lineup. And think about what that does with a lineup that has Aaron Judge and Ben Rice in it. A hitter who gets on base, a .360 clip and puts the ball in play is the guy standing on first when Aaron Judge steps into the box. Every Yankees fan can picture that, and it's a lot more fun than another strikeout Compared to a runner with... in scoring position for once, and that is not a hot year. Chris Kirschner points out that Paredes has been at least a 115 weighted runs created plus hitter in his last five straight seasons. 100 is league average, so he's 15% better every year for five years. Contact plus power is rare. Since 2015... Only 47 player seasons in the MLB have had 25 or more home runs with 90 or fewer strikeouts. Paredes' 2026 is one of them, next to Alex Bregman's 2019 and Ronald Acuna Jr.'s 2023. Now, the obvious pushback. Paredes is a dead-pull hitter. He pulls 50.5% of his balls in play. And Daikin Park is one of the friendliest parks for right-handed pole hitters. So is he a product of Houston? Well, not really. At home, he was a 137 weighted runs created plus with 14 home runs. On the road, he was a 123 with 11 home runs. 123 away from home is still well above average as well. And pitchers cannot just pitch around mistakes. The Digest desk has him slugging at 9, at .911 on pitches in the middle middle. And 56 at bats. Leave one over the heart of the plate and he's gonna do damage with that. And Kirschner is careful on this too. The fit is not perfect because Paredes is a right-handed deadpool hitter who would play half his games at Yankee Stadium. That is a fair worry, but a hitter with a 123 weighted runs created plus on the road is not a hitter who needs one specific ballpark to be his best self. Now, here's the honest part because I'm not gonna oversell it. Paredes is a bad first. He started 135 games at third base, Playing 1,167 innings, baseball savant has him at a minus two outs above average that year and a minus four in 2025 and a minus one in 2024. That's slightly below average, not a disaster. And there is quality contact as a flag too. I mean, overall as expected, WOBA was a .323 against the actual .355 and a 29.3% hard hit rate and an 86 mile per hour average exit velocity. Some of that production is a pull So, the pitch for Paredes is simple. He's a bat who fixes the lineup, can handle third base, has played second a little bit, three games there this year. He's not necessarily a glove, but the Yankees, they're less worried about making sure everyone has a great glove than they used to. They don't want terrible fielders out there, but look at Luis Garcia Jr., for instance. Brought him in because he could hit, and that's what the Yankees need right now. And the money matters. We saw wild video NYC wrote. They spent $308 million this year and already have $250 to $275 committed to 2027. So the real question is, what the Yankees pay in a trade? And Houston wants pitching, which the Yankees do have a whole lot of. Now, Jeremy Pena, because he is a different kind of player. In 2026, he had a .277 average with a .325 on base percentage and a .477 slugging percentage with a WOBA of .347. And 2026 was a step back from 2025. In 2025, he had a .304 with a .363 on base percentage and the same .477 slugging percentage and a .363 WOBA. His strikeout rate that year was a 17.1. So there's a .304 hitter there, and the Yankees would be betting that hitter shows up But look at how he hits the ball. A 39.2% hard hit rate to Paredes' 29.3, an 88.6 mph average exit velocity compared to an 86, and the expected WOBA for 326, a little higher than Paredes' 323. That is harder contact. He's also fast, 93rd percentile in sprint speed, and he is not afraid of October. He was the 2022 World Series MVP as a rookie. Power is real. On September 26th, he hit a home run 425 feet, With a 109 mile per hour exit velocity. That is not a singles hitter with a glove. That is a bat who can drive the ball in Yankee Stadium. Now the glove, and I want to be fair about it. In 2025, it's shortstop. Pena was plus eight outs above average. And six fielding runs prevented. That is elite. In 2026, it fell to minus six and minus five with 13 errors. A .966 fielding percentage. There is one more fielding number that helps him. Pena turned 58 double plays in 2026. Up from 51 in 2025. And he did it in few. We'll be right back. Which glove is real? Probably the one that was elite last year and this season was a dip when the Astros struggled in general. But that is a bet, not a guarantee. And the strikeout rate jumped from 17.1 to 24 with only a 5% walk rate. Kirchner says there is no reason to think that he couldn't handle a move to second or third. And third is where the Yankees would really wanna put him. And I do think he would do great there fielding. So here is where I land. If the Yankees want a steady bat that gets on base and doesn't strike out, Paredes is the safer pick. If they want power, speed, and a glove, that could be a shortstop quality, but would be at third base. Pena is the higher ceiling. And think about what that does for the lineup. Paredes with a 360 on base percentage and a 13.4 strikeout rate puts the ball in play and gets runners on for the big bats. Pena with a 477 slugging percentage and speed adds a threat that can score from first base. Different ways to help, same result, more runs. The Yankees need both hitting and fielding, and Pena is the one who can give them both. In 2025, if that glove is real, especially at third base, he'll be great, and Paredes gives him the bat right now. Either way, Houston needs pitching and face crunch once Correa returns. This is the trade the Yankees should be asking about. Remember what the Yankees are actually trying to solve here. They did not win it all this year, and a lineup needs balance. Hitters who get on, hitters who drive the ball, and gloves that save outs. These two players are two different answers to the same problem, and either answer is better than the whole the Yankees have now. Also, Pena did hit with a three. 100 average, not that long ago. So I'm really convinced he can totally get back there as well and give the Yankees what they need. Now, WCMC6 with a comment of the day wrote, your show would be decent if you didn't give the stats and beg for subscribers every single episode. I did add this because my girlfriend did laugh at it and we were having a good chuckle at it. So WCMC6, well, please subscribe to the channel. Please, please. Please subscribe. Oh, WCMC6, I need you specifically. Well, there we go. But last question. Would you give up pitching to get Paredes or Peña? Yes or no in the comments. Like this video, subscribe, turn on post notifications. Have a great day and go Yankees. We're going to have some fun on this channel.