Key piece from Astros’ notorious Kyle Tucker trade getting close to making deal even more lopsided

The Houston Astros were lauded for the return they received from the Kyle Tucker trade, in large part because they got a controllable young position player in the form of Isaac Paredes and a top young prospect in the form of Cam Smith. The third player in that deal, Hayden Wesneski, figured to offer the Astros a solution in the back end of the rotation.

Wesneski didn't get a chance to make much of an impact last year. The right-hander made six up-and-down starts for Houston before succumbing to a UCL tear and undergoing Tommy John surgery. With just 32 innings and a 4.50 ERA in 2025, it's safe to say that he was more or less a non-factor in the calculus of who won the deal.

Even without steady contributions from Wesneski, it's pretty clear that Houston won the trade. The Cubs got a solid season from Tucker last year that was in line with his career norms, though it was an uneven one that saw him tail off in the second half with a .738 OPS down the stretch. An early playoff exit followed, and in the blink of an eye, the Kyle Tucker era in Chicago was over.

Meanwhile, even though Smith hasn't been the slam dunk the Astros hoped for, the 23-year-old has had stretches that show that superstar potential is still inside him, waiting to explode out and propel him toward his ceiling. Paredes was an All-Star in 2025 and, after a slow start to 2026, is getting back to a similar level.

Now, things could get even better. Wesneski is on the comeback trail and just in the nick of time. Houston's rotation has been a revolving door and came out of the Fourth of July weekend with a 28th-ranked 5.10 ERA. Hunter Brown's return has helped, but they need a whole lot more to build a completely functional starting staff.

Hayden Wesneski could combine with a trade deadline acquisition to fix the Astros' starting rotation

Wesneski's first rehab start was a warm-up down in the Florida Complex League on June 30 that saw him toss three scoreless innings. He built upon that with a much greater test on July 5 at Corpus Christi when he threw four innings of one-run ball, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out three.

Coming off Tommy John surgery, there's a need to have some patience as he builds back up, but his return is inching closer and could really help the Astros as they fight to contend.

If the 28-year-old comes back to be the quality mid-to-back-end starter that Houston thought it was getting at the time of the trade, it will scratch a big need off the list. Combined that with the club landing one of its top rumored targets, Tarik Skubal or Sonny Gray, and suddenly you have a potent playoff-caliber rotation with Hunter Brown and Peter Lambert.

That would make the Tucker trade an even bigger win for the Astros. They were never going to be able to retain Tucker, and the way he's played with the Dodgers thus far, they should be glad that was never going to be in the cards. Now, they've potentially received three average or better players at positions of need in exchange for him. You really can't ask for more.

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