USA TODAY International Edition
Rookie shortstop making Astros forget about Correa
HOUSTON – Jeremy Peña woke up in the wee hours of March 19 in his South Florida apartment, grabbed his cellphone off the nightstand, and immediately saw all of the messages on his Instagram account.
He wiped his eyes, looked again, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.
The opportunity of a lifetime was staring him in the face.
Carlos Correa, the All- Star and Gold Glove shortstop who led the Houston Astros to six playoff berths and three World Series appearances in his seven- year career, was officially an ex- employee.
He agreed to a three- year, $ 105.3 million contract with the Minnesota Twins, leaving a vacancy at the shortstop position.
“I didn’t go back to sleep after seeing that,” Peña tells USA TODAY Sports. “He made a decision that was best for him and his family, and I respect that.”
Correa also made a decision that immediately changed Peña’s fate.
“I never saw it as, ‘ I’m only going to get my chance if Correa leaves,’ ” Peña said. “I always looked at it as no matter where you are, you do a job, and if you perform, you’re going to get your opportunity.”
The door was suddenly wide open for Peña, and he knocked it off its hinges, winning the job and proving this first month that he plans to keep it indefinitely.
Peña, 24, has been everything the Astros could have envisioned, and much more. While some rookies have badly struggled, from Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals, Julio Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners to Spencer Torkelson of the Detroit Tigers, Peña has thrived.
Going into Sunday, Peña led all rookies this season with six home runs and a .489 slugging percentage and was tied for first with 15 RBI.
“He came into his role his way,” Astros starter Jake Odorizzi said. “He didn’t try to be somebody he wasn’t. We knew how phenomenal he was with the glove.
“Obviously, he’s got big shoes to fill coming in after Carlos, but he’s done it the right way.”
No one’s comparing Peña to Correa, one of the game’s elite shortstops who received the richest average salary for an infielder in baseball history, but the sting of Correa’s departure certainly has subsided.
“Obviously, he’s talented,” Astros AllStar second baseman Jose Altuve says of Peña, “but he’s a very humble guy, loves to work hard, and wants to learn. That’s why he’s here.
“He’s going to be good, really good. He’s going to be a superstar- caliber player. Just watch.”
One man will be closely watching and eagerly awaiting Peña’s arrival in Minneapolis on Tuesday when the Astros play a three- game series against the Twins at Target Field: Correa.
Correa, who rejected a five- year, $ 160 million contract offer from Houston, with the Astros refusing to budge by giving him an opt- out or a contract longer than five years, will get a firsthand look at his protégé.
“I can’t wait to see him,” Peña said. “Really, I can’t wait to thank him. He has meant so much to me.”
It was two years ago when Peña arrived to the Astros spring training camp and one of the first men to greet him, guide him and counsel him was Correa.
Who knew that Peña would become his heir apparent?
“Carlos has been great to me since the first day I met him,” Peña said. “He’s been great. He’s helped me out so much. A mentor to me. He’s helped me prepare for games, how to stay steady in a season, how to focus on work – really, everything physically and mentally.
“He was never worried about some kid coming in and trying to take his job. He just wanted to help me become a major leaguer. I’ll always remember what he did for me.”
Peña, the son of seven- year veteran Geronimo Peña, leaned on his father for advice growing up. Yet he was born after his father’s last season and never saw him play. He instead listened to the stories and they watched games together.
His all- time favorite growing up was Jose Reyes of the New York Mets, Peña says, loving his energy and enthusiasm. He admired Alex Rodriguez’s sheer talent. He doesn’t remember watching much of Omar Vizquel during his playing days but studied all of his videos.
And, he was taught all about the greatness of Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith, his father’s teammate with the St. Louis Cardinals.
“I didn’t get to see him play,” Peña said, “but my dad always put Ozzie on me. He kept saying, ‘ This is the guy you need to learn from.’ I learned a lot from Ozzie Smith without even seeing him play.”
Peña, who moved from the Dominican Republic to Providence, Rhode Island, when he was 12, attending the University of Maine, now has aspiring kids watching him.
He was not even fazed meeting Mike Trout in his first game this year, although he was stunned by the size of the Los Angeles Angels superstar. “Man, he’s a big dude.”
He took delight in the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani welcoming him to the show.
And Peña laughed when he was at a local Whole Foods grocery store, heard someone yelling his name as if he were a fan, only to discover it was Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson.
“The guys give me advice,” Peña says, “telling me, ‘ Hey, just keeping playing your game. It’s the same game. Just play hard and have fun.
“And don’t forget to enjoy it, because at the end of the day, this is a dream. So enjoy it, play hard and compete.’ ”
Oh, Peña sure is doing that, whether it’s hitting his first career home run on April 9 while his parents were being interviewed on TV, hitting a walk- off homer last Monday, or driving in two runs in manager Dusty Baker’s 2,000th victory last Tuesday.
He has surprised scouts with his power, already hitting six home runs in 90 at- bats compared to the 30 homers his dad hit during his entire seven- year career.
“Nothing seems to faze him,” says Astros All- Star third baseman Alex Bregman. “He’s very good at compartmentalizing, saying ‘ I’m not going to take my bat to the field or my glove to the plate.’ To do that at a young age is really special, being able to stay locked in.
“He’s so impressive with his work ethic, nothing surprises me.”
Peña missed all of 2020 when the COVID- 19 pandemic canceled the entire minor league season and played only 37 games last year after having surgery on his wrist. He had played only 30 games above Class A when he arrived to camp this spring.
Yet instead of sitting around and feeling sorry for himself, he spent the past two winters playing for Estrellas in the Dominican League under manager Fernando Tatis Sr.
His work ethic has always been off the charts, but he learned not to let any defensive error affect his offense, or any strikeout affect his defense.
“I learned to separate everything at Maine and at the beginning of my pro career,” Peña said. “Not just my offense and my defense, but I learned how to separate pitches, and how to separate at- bats, learn how to build off the good, learn off the bad, and play the game as if nothing has happened.”
The only thing that has shaken up Peña so far was the mind- blowing irony that he had two singles with two RBI in Baker’s historic 2,000th victory.
Guess who was the opposing leadoff hitter who had two singles for the Cardinals in Baker’s first game as manager in 1993?
Yep, Peña’s dad.
“I heard that stat, and I didn’t want to believe it,” Peña said. “I still can’t believe it. Come on, how is that possible?”
Baseball, where dreams can turn into reality, no matter how you get the opportunity to make it.
“It would be so tough to come in for a guy like Correa with the teams wanting you to be the same if not do more,’ says Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Josh Rojas, Peña’s roommate during an Astros strength camp.
“He found a way to deal with pressure and use it as a chip on his shoulder or disregard it all together.
“He’s been going above and beyond filling that role, watching him fly through the system, and filling those shoes that Correa left.
“We’re all so happy for him.”