Astros' Jeremy Pena drops 1-word caption after fielding routine with former Brewer Daniel Casals

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena is leaving no stone unturned in his offseason preparation, and he made that clear with a single-word caption. With Spring Training and Opening Day fast approaching, baseball stars have hit the ground running and Pena is also among the players sweating it out.

Pena has former Milwaukee Brewers minor leaguer and current infield coach Daniel Casals to help him out on that front. On Saturday, he shared stories of him sharpening his defensive skills with Casals.

The drill took place on a turf infield, with Casals rolling ground balls as Pena practiced his footwork and hand-eye coordination. The 2022 Gold Glove winner at shortstop was locked in, wearing all black with bright red cleats.

Pena had a one-word reaction to the intense training:

"Vitamins."

While cryptic at first glance, the message likely refers to the importance of consistent training — treating defensive work like daily vitamins.

Pena's Instagram story

Jeremy Pena and Astros settled on a salary to avoid arbitration

The Astros' starting shortstop, who is under team control till the 2027 season, didn't drag the franchise into arbitration, agreeing on a $4.1 million deal earlier in January.

He became the third-highest earner through arbitration this season for the Astros after Mauricio Dubon and Isaac Paredes.

Pena, who hit .263/.324/.381 in 634 plate appearances along with 152 hits, 13 stolen bases and 43 walks in 2023, followed it up with another average season in 2024 as he slashed .266/.308/.394 with 15 home runs, 70 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.

He started off with an impressive rookie season in 2022, hitting .253./289/.426 with 132 hits, 22 home runs, 63 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.

Pena is an integral part of the Astros core, who won the 2022 World Series title. He was the MVP of that World Series and ALCS round prior to that as well.

The Astros will expect an uptick in offensive production from him in 2025. Even in 2024 defensive stats, he registered a low career low fielding run value of -2.