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Cam Smith causes Astros fans to rethink Kyle Tucker trade after performance vs. Mets

Eric Cole
Eric Cole

Climbing Tal's Hill

Houston Astros infielder Cam Smith rounds second base / Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

The offseason was a bit of a whirlwind for Houston Astros fans. While the drama of Alex Bregman's exit drew a lot of the headlines, the biggest change may have actually been the Kyle Tucker trade. The deal sent Houston's talented outfielder to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Isaac Paredes and prospect Cam Smith.

For the Astros, the decision to trade Tucker was a simple one. The team had limited payroll to work with this offseason and with Tucker heading into his walk year, trading him freed up some of the team's 2025 payroll, while receiving something of value before watching him just leave in free agency. The organization was also able to shore up other areas of the roster. It was painful, but the logic was there.

It remains to be seen whether or not Paredes and the newly signed Christian Walker are going to be able to replace the level of production the team lost this offseason. However, Smith was the biggest prize Houston's received in the Tucker trade, and he is off to a great start in spring training after slugging a pair of home runs against the New York Mets on Tuesday.

Cam Smith clubs two homers in the Astros spring training game vs. NY Mets

It's just one spring training game, and you can insert all of the other caveats you want here as they are probably fair. However, for a player that general manager Dana Brown called an "aircraft carrier" and one who jumped onto the prospect map after posting a 1.005 OPS during his first glimpse of pro ball last year, Smith sure seems like a player who is going places and is not the least bit intimidated. Two homers in one game is no joke regardless of the context.

Of course, fans are going to need to pump the brakes a bit in terms of anticipating his debut. Smith has a grand total of 32 games under his belt and only five of them are above High-A. He is going to need some time to develop and settle in defensively before the Astros entertain calling him up to the big leagues. That said, his bat looks like it could force the issue rather soon.

Losing a player like Tucker is never easy and fans can be upset that it happened. However, it definitely stings a little less when you get a potential franchise-altering talent in return, and in the case of Smith, Houston may have found just that.

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Eric Cole

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.