Astros and Jeremy Peña engaged in $100 million contract negotiations

The Houston Astros have one of baseball's best shortstops on their roster in Jeremy Peña. He's also young and having a career year. With all of the factors at play, Peña is looking to make a huge amount of money once he becomes a free agent.

However, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post on Twitter/X, the Astros and Peña had engaged in serious contract negotiations on a long-term deal. The deal was in the range of $100 million. But, after Peña switched agents to Scott Boras, the contract extension talks are on hold.

They were talking about a deal for in the range of $100M. Now on hold. https://t.co/uMGjzT0lfQ

Peña is in the middle of a career season. In 78 games, Peña has 99 hits, 47 runs scored, 16 doubles, one triple, 11 home runs, 40 RBIs, 15 stolen bases, 19 walks, and 54 strikeouts. He's batting .326 with a .380 on-base percentage and a .493 slugging percentage. His .874 OPS is also a career high.

In 2025, Peña has an OPS+ of 144, meaning he's 44 percent better than a league-average hitter this season. More importantly, it's the highest of his career, as in 2022, his previous career high, he had a 102 OPS+.

With how great Peña has been in 2025, it's no surprise that he's putting contract negotiations on hold. Chandler Rome of The Athletic reported something similar, that Peña was unlikely to re-sign in Houston until testing free agency.

Heyman's report is a strong indicator that Peña, amid changing agents to Boras, is not looking to settle on a reasonable contract extension. Peña, like all of Boras's clients, is looking to break the bank.

Based on his 2025 play, who can blame him? Peña has 4.5 WAR, already the second highest of his career, and is on pace to smash his previous career high of 5.0 WAR in his rookie season in 2022.

Peña is set to be a free agent after the 2027 season, and he is expected to test it once the time comes. The Astros' World Series MVP from 2022, Gold Glove winner, and breakout shortstop is set to hit the open market and land a deal north of $100 million total.