One reason why the Astros felt comfortable with the idea of Carlos Correa signing elsewhere two offseasons ago was due to the emergence of Jeremy Peña. Honestly, it was mainly about the long-term nature of any contract along with the money, but Peña was a secondary reason. It was also a bold decision at the time. However, the sting of losing Correa was lessened a bit by how Peña performed last season (3.4 fWAR in 136 games), culminating with ALCS and World Series MVP honors.
Peña’s major league career up to now has had an interesting arc. He started strong with a 127 wRC+ in his first 194 career plate appearances along with impressive defense.