Paredes – the versatile hitter acquired by the Astros in a trade for Kyle Tucker – had an impressive 2025 season before suffering a hamstring injury that sidelined him for an extended period. Despite this, his pre-injury statistics still gave management and fans hope.
While the team announced salary-avoiding agreements with most players, Isaac Paredes stood out as the number one player on the list of those unable to reach a salary agreement with the Astros. Although the parties have exchanged figures, the gap between Paredes’ expectations and the team’s proposal has not narrowed. Therefore, the matter will continue to be reviewed by an independent MLB referee at the end of the season.
“I know that the road ahead will not be easy. This isn’t about money. It’s about the future that I and the Astros fans have built together. I deeply thank you for your love, patience, and belief – especially during the days I had to battle injury.”
This message quickly spread across social media and fan forums. Many called it one of the most profound tributes a player could ever make to his community – not shying away from responsibility, not making excuses, but frankly facing an uncertain future.
Astrals fans responded with an unprecedented wave of support. Hashtags praising Isaac Paredes flooded Twitter, Reddit, and the team’s fan pages, with thousands of comments encouraging the player before he entered one of the most crucial phases of his career.
Some even expressed that what Paredes did wasn’t simply about playing baseball – it was about holding the hearts of Astros fans, through good times and bad. It wasn’t just about salary or referees, but about a relationship between a player and a community that extended beyond the baseball field.
To date, the Astros have finalized most of the deals with players who could avoid refereeing, from Jeremy Peña to Hunter Brown, giving the team a clearer picture of its 2026 salary cap. However, Paredes’s failure to agree on a salary and his potential appeal to the referees has become the biggest highlight of this deadline.
MLB financial experts believe that appealing to the referees could be risky for both sides. If the referees rule higher than the Astros anticipate, the team will have to pay more for a player who has just returned from injury. If the opposite happens, it would be a significant blow to Paredes’s symbolic emotional value to the fans.
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