“I don’t know where we’d be without him, honestly.” That’s what Houston Astros’ Mauricio Dubón had to say about Jeremy Peña, the World Series MVP. With the team charging ahead in the AL West, Peña isn’t just keeping up, he’s leading the charge with an All-Star caliber season. But just as everything seemed to be clicking, a curveball hit Houston off the field. Peña switched agents. And not just to anyone, he joined forces with Scott Boras, the same agent behind the $765 million Juan Soto deal. One thing’s for sure: contract talks in Houston are about to get a whole lot more intense.
The Astros’ shortstop is hitting a .325 batting average, with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs and an OPS of .875 this season. And guess what? With a 4.5 WAR, Peña ranks just behind Aaron Judge. He’s proven to be the kind of player who can shift the momentum for the team. The Astros had every reason to hope they could be a long-term home for their star; however, with the infamous MLB agent Boras in the equation, the odds are no longer in their favor. The ex-Marlins president, David Samson, has called it.
“He (Peña) announced that Scott Boras is his new agent. His old agent, who spent so much time cultivating and helping him get to where he is, gets absolutely thrown out with the trash. So Scott Boras can take over and get his percentage of Peña’s free agent deal,” Samson didn’t hold back on his show, ‘Nothing Personal with David Samson.’ And there is a warning served for the Astros too.
In Houston, that move was as loud as a walk-off home run. The front office knew what it meant—Boras clients rarely sign early extensions, and when they do, it’s never at a discount. The hometown deal, the one that might have kept Peña in Houston for less than market value, vanished in an instant. “They had an opportunity to sign a player at still what probably is not a completely mark-to-market deal, and now, poof!” added Samson. And he didn’t just stop there.
Offering Astros a reality check, Samson continued, “When you’ve got a player on your team with two years of arbitration left who has switched agents to Scott Boras, news alert, you’re not getting a hometown discount. You’re not getting an early deal unless you overpay to the point of night sweats, and the Astros aren’t going to do that.”
Within the organization, the focus began to shift. Rather than planning around Peña as a long-term fixture, the Astros now had to consider a future without him. In Samson’s opinion, the message was clear: Peña’s decision to hire Boras signaled an intent to maximize his value, to chase the last dollar on the open market rather than settle for security in Houston.
He is not wrong. The $100 million worth of contract extension talks with the team are now reportedly on hold after he switched agents.
“Astros and star SS Jeremy Peña had been in serious long-term contract talks before his recent agent switch to Scott Boras, as I said on @MLBNetwork. Those talks are now on hold, at least for now,” Jon Heyman posted on X.
It is obvious that Boras must be looking for a more lucrative deal with the team. Fans can only hope that both parties reach a deal that benefits both, to keep the star in Houston. The Astros simply can’t afford to lose him; they should get that extension done, as advised by their second baseman months ago!
Jose Altuve asks Astros to extend Jeremy Peña
Jeremy Peña is a player who has been instrumental in the team’s success this season. He is even heating up the AL MVP discussions this season. And if someone knows this very well, it’s his teammate José Altuve. That’s why he has vocally supported Peña and even called out the team’s leadership for delaying his contract extension back in April.
“He’s a very valuable player for us. And I’m very surprised he’s not signing a long-term deal with the Astros. He’s a guy that you really want on your team for the long term. So I think Dana Brown and Mr. Jim Crane need to start working on that,” said Altuve to MLB insider Ari Alexander. And now with the entry of Boras, who is also Altuve’s agent, they should take his word for it.
Houston should be concerned, as this is the same agent who looked over the ex-cornerstones of the franchise, Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa’s deals, too. This new move has started a buzz of speculation about Peña’s future with the team. However, they are not in immediate danger: at least until 2027, he is under the team’s control.
The post Astros Hit With Worst Claim as Jeremy Peña Accused of Mistreating Ex-Agent in Scott Boras Switch appeared first on EssentiallySports.
