Phillies Could Pursue Former Nemesis in Massive Trade

The Philadelphia Phillies need to clean up their infield this offseason, as both Luis Arraez and Alec Bohm are free agents, and there is a chance neither will be back.

Arraez may price himself out of the Phillies' range, and as far as Bohm is concerned, does Philadelphia really want to keep the same old, same old?

The problem is that there aren't many realistic options in free agency.

Brandon Lowe received a qualifying offer from the Pittsburgh Pirates, so that probably rules him out. It seems doubtful Philadelphia will part with draft capital and international bonus pool money to land him.

Teruaki Sato has long been tabbed a potential solution at the hot corner, but many feel the Japanese star won't be able to stick at third base on the big-league level.

Taking that into consideration, the Phillies may want to peruse the trade market, and one player who has been floated as a possibility is Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena.

Philadelphia fans surely remember Pena from the 2022 World Series, when the then-rookie batted .400 with a home run and three RBI en route to an Astros victory.

But now, Pena has just one year of team control remaining, and Houston may not be able to afford to keep him.

Enter the Phillies, who could play Pena at either shortstop, second base or third base next season. If he plays short, Trea Turner could then move over to second, which would shift Bryson Stott over to third (which he played in 2026).

Pena would comprise a significant upgrade for Philadelphia.

The 29-year-old slashed .277/.325/.477 with 22 home runs and 56 RBI over 483 plate appearances this past season, missing 50 games due to a variety of nicks and bruises throughout the campaign.

Pena did experience a considerable defensive decline in 2026, going from a Gold Glove-caliber fielder to someone who posted minus-5 defensive runs saved and minus-6 outs above average, but that may have just been an outlier.

The Dominican native was an All-Star as recently as 2025 after posting an .840 OPS, and he brings much-needed playoff success to the table.

Of course, the cost would be steep for the Phillies and would likely require them to part with top prospect Aidan Miller. Also, Philadelphia would also need to worry about retaining Pena, who can hit free agency after next season.

But given that the Phillies are in win-now mode with Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, it might be a chance they have to take.