HOUSTON -- Considering he was replacing franchise icon Alex Bregman at third base and was coming to the Astros as part of the deal that sent star outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Cubs, Isaac Paredes had big expectations placed on him upon his arrival in Houston.
Paredes has fit in seamlessly in the Astros clubhouse and has been a big reason why the club will hit the All-Star break with a lead in the American League West. Paredes had planned to rest in Houston over the break, but he will instead be headed to Atlanta for the Midsummer Classic after being added to the AL All-Star team on Wednesday.
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“I think it’s something beautiful, something to be very proud of, to be able to represent the team out there and represent myself as a player,” Paredes said prior to the Astros' 4-2 loss to the Guardians on Wednesday at Daikin Park.
The 2025 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard will be held Tuesday at Truist Park in Atlanta.
“We are excited for him,” said manager Joe Espada, who announced Paredes’ addition to the All-Star team in the clubhouse prior to Wednesday’s game against Cleveland. “From Day 1 that he walked in our clubhouse, the energy he’s brought to our club, the performance on the field, the human, I couldn’t be any happier for him when we told him in there.”
Paredes, who made the All-Star team last year with the Rays shortly before being traded to the Cubs, will replace Guardians third baseman José Ramírez, who was voted as the AL starter at third and will instead focus on recovery and the second half of the season. Paredes will join starting pitcher Hunter Brown, closer Josh Hader and Jeremy Peña in representing the Astros.
“I’m super proud,” Espada said. “We work our tails off to try to win games as a unit, as a team. But when we have a moment to recognize individual performance, we want to do that. These guys want to be All-Stars, they want to be MVPs, they want to be the best at their position, and obviously we've got some of those guys here in this clubhouse.”
Espada said Wednesday that Peña will travel to Atlanta to partake in All-Star Game festivities, but won’t play in the game because of an injury. He’s been on the injured list since July 1 with a rib fracture and won’t return to Houston’s lineup until after the break. Brown, who is scheduled to pitch Sunday against the Rangers to close out the first half, won't participate in the All-Star Game either, with the Twins' Joe Ryan taking his place on the AL roster.
Paredes entered Wednesday slashing .255/.358/.471 (.829 OPS) while ranking second among AL third basemen in home runs (19) and RBIs (49). He was moved to the leadoff spot following the injury to Peña and was hitting .289 with four homers in 11 games in that spot, including a leadoff homer Friday that helped spark a three-game sweep of the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
“When I put Paredes there, it was [because] of his ability to see pitches,” Espada said. “I wanted him to get a ton of at-bats. If we could start the game 1-0 with a swing of the bat, I want that. And just to highlight the game he had with the Cubs [June 29], he saw [31] pitches against the starter [Jameson Taillon]. He pretty much helped us get the starter out of the game. That's the kind of at-bats that we have learned to admire from Paredes.”
Paredes was second in the Major Leagues with 4.42 pitches per plate appearance entering Wednesday.
“It feels very good to go out there and work hard,” he said. “Primarily my main focus is to work hard for the team and be able to give the most I can for the team, but you’ve seen the results I’m getting and those results allowed me to get to the All-Star Game.”
Paredes hasn’t been up to Bregman’s level defensively -- Bregman won the AL Gold Glove at third base last year -- but his defense has been steady, though the metrics aren’t supporting that. He has minus-2 outs above average, which ranks 15th among 21 qualified AL 3B, per Baseball Savant. His minus-3 defensive runs saved ranks tied for 14th among 17 qualified AL 3B, per FanGraphs.
“I knew he was good defensively but I did not know he was this good defensively,” Espada said. “He’s played Gold Glove third base. He’s disciplined at the plate. His ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark and his overall quality of at-bats have been better than what I was expecting.”