Entering the 2022 season, it’s unknown how the Astros brass exactly viewed Jeremy Peña.
Long-term, he projected to at least be a solid regular at shortstop, if not an above-average everyday player. But given his lack of experience in the upper minors — he skipped Double-A Corpus Christi after the canceled 2020 minor-league season and accrued 133 plate appearances at Triple-A Sugar Land in 2021 — the former third-round pick was facing a steep learning curve in 2022 at the big-league level.
It did not help that he would be replacing Carlos Correa, the greatest shortstop in Astros history.