Cam Smith has already made a noticeable defensive jump for the Astros, even if he’s still chasing the standard set by Wilyer Abreu in right field.
Abreu looks like the clear Gold Glove favorite for a third straight year, and the numbers back that up. Over the last three seasons, he has stood out above the rest of the right-field field, leading the Majors with 22 Fielding Run Value. He also owns the second-best defensive value in Range with 14, trailing only Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and he is tied in Arm with 8 alongside Nathan Lukes of the Toronto Blue Jays, another player in the mix for the award this year.
Smith, though, has made his own case by taking a real step forward in his second big league season. He handled the position regularly in his debut with Houston in 2025, playing 1,079 games, then expanded to 1,262 innings this year. The bigger story is the improvement in the metrics: he moved from 1 OAA to 6 and from 0 FRV to 6.
The growth is especially clear when you look at the areas that gave him trouble as a rookie. His most obvious issues involved reading the ball and, at times, reacting to more difficult plays when he had to go back on a route. One of the numbers that stood out was his -2 Lateral toward 3B, and those struggles were most pronounced against left-handed hitters.
Baseball Savant’s Outfield Catch Probability helps separate routine chances from the tougher ones, and that’s where the gap between Smith and Abreu widens. On 5 Star plays, which fall in the 0-25% range, Abreu converted 75% of them, while Smith handled 42.9%. In the broader All Plays category, the difference narrows considerably, with Smith at 88.8% and Abreu at 90.8%, but the edge still belongs to the Red Sox outfielder.
Even with that gap, Smith’s development has been a promising one for Houston. The Astros need young upside, and a player who can help turn the offense back into a real threat fits that bill.
Historically, Houston hasn’t had much of a right-field Gold Glove presence. Kyle Tucker in 2022 remains the only Astros right fielder to win the award, and he is just the third outfielder overall for the franchise to do so, joining center fielders Michael Bourn, who won twice in 2009 and 2010, and Cesar Cedeno, who won four straight from 1973 through 1976.
In Other News...
Astros Deadline Gamble Already Looks Worse Than Fans Expected
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Instead, the move has aged badly in a hurry. Varsho never settled in at the plate before season-ending wrist surgery ended his year, while Houston was sent home early from the postseason and is left staring at the same roster needs it tried to address in the first place. Even worse for the Astros, the pitcher they gave up is still in Torontos plans for years to come, leaving Houston with little short-term payoff and a reminder that deadline gambles do not always age gracefully. [Read more 🡒]
Astros Suddenly Have A Bigger Catcher Problem Than Christian Vazquez
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Yainer Diazs offensive regression since 2025 has pushed the issue into sharper focus, because Houston needs more than stability at catcher if it wants the position to help carry its roster rather than just manage it. If the club decides to look outside the organization, the market could put names like Carson Kelly, Tyler Stephenson and Ryan Jeffers into the mix as it searches for a better blend of offense and defense. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Suddenly Have A Real Shot At Isaac Paredes
Isaac Paredes is back in the mix as the Astros sort through what could be a busy stretch of roster decisions, and Boston has emerged as a team watching closely. The infielder still carries a club option for 2027, and after a strong 2026 season he remains the kind of productive, controllable bat that can draw real interest if Houston decides to rethink its infield picture while addressing other needs.
The Red Sox, for their part, have the kind of assets that could make a deal worth exploring if the talks gain traction. Houston is weighing multiple ways to reshape the roster, and Paredes is one of the names now floating back into those conversations as teams around the league keep looking for impact bats with some team control attached. [Read more 🡒]