Both the Houston Astros and the Dominican Republic’s World Baseball Classic squad were dealt a significant blow when imaging revealed shortstop Jeremy Peña suffered a fracture in the tip of his right ring finger, the Astros announced March 5.
The injury will knock Peña out of the WBC and land him on the 10-day injured list to begin the regular season. The Astros announced Peña will be reevaluated in two weeks; they open the season March 26 at home against the Los Angeles Angels.
Jeremy Peña stats
Though Peña’s finger should heal in time for the vast majority of the regular season, it’s nonetheless a tough break for a player coming off a career season in which he produced 5.6 WAR and career highs in batting average (.304), on-base percentage (.363) and slugging (.477, with an .840 OPS).
All that came across 125 games, keeping his homer total down to 17. Yet at 27, it’s clear Peña is reaching the zenith of his potential. He was already an elite defender who deftly replaced Carlos Correa and clutched up in the 2022 postseason as the Astros won the World Series championship.
Who replaces Jeremy Peña with Astros, Dominican Republic?
Given the timing that’s naturally a far more pressing concern for manager Albert Pujols’ WBC squad. Fortunately, that team is just about as loaded as Team USA’s star-studded team. Pujols can simply slide Geraldo Perdomo – a 7-win player who finished fourth in NL MVP voting last season – into the shortstop spot.
While it certainly thins the Dominicans’ depth, they still have Junior Caminero, Manny Machado and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at the corner infield spots, with Perdomo and Ketel Marte up the middle and Amed Rosario available anywhere off the bench.
As for the Astros, Correa will slide back to his old position and, at least for now, the quandary of where Isaac Paredes will play has been solved. He’ll man third base in Correa’s stead, though the Astros will still have little room at the inn – or infield – once Peña returns.
Jeremy Peña contract
Peña is entering his fifth season and will make $9.475 million in his second year of arbitration eligibility. He can become a free agent after the 2027 season.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jeremy Pena injury update: Astros shortstop knocked out of WBC
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