Retired Astros fan favorite shares positive review of Kyle Tucker trade

In one of the biggest trades of the offseason (so far), the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs lined up on a swap involving Kyle Tucker and Isaac Paredes, amongst other pieces. On the surface, it feels like this is a move that will help both sides out in both the short- and long-term pictures. This seems to be the general consensus around the league, including in the eyes of an Astros legend.

In a post on social media, Roy Oswalt, a member of the Houston Astros Hall of Fame, said he believes the Tucker trade makes a lot of sense for the Astros. Really, it's hard to disagree with him, especially his opinion on the fit of Paredes in the newly-renamed Daikin Park.

Oswalt's name and thoughts carry a lot of weight around the team, as he spent the first 10 years of his career leading their starting rotation. The right-hander went 143-82 across 303 appearances in Houston, boasting a 3.24 ERA and 133 ERA+ that puts his output at 33 percent better than league-average.

In that time, he made three All-Star Games and finished in the top-five in Cy Young voting a whopping five times. He was an absolute workhorse and is easily one of the most popular Astros ever.

Roy Oswalt loves the Kyle Tucker trade for the Astros

Moving on from Tucker, a pending free agent, gives the Astros the ability to pivot elsewhere to players who will be cheaper and easier to keep around beyond 2025 than he would have been. Paredes is a great example of that, as he's got multiple years of control left and is not going to be as expensive as Tucker would've been to retain.

Paredes, still just 25 years of age, is a pull-happy slugger who will have a blast calling Daikin his home park. He's a power-hitting right-handed bat who has a ton of raw power. He'll be able to easily take advantage of that short left-field porch on a nightly basis.

Not to mention, now that Tucker's contract is off the books, the Astros can use Paredes at one corner infield spot and fill the other with either a trade acquisition or a reunion with Astros legend Alex Bregman, who's currently unsigned on the free agent market. There are a lot of possibilities here for the club, and most of them involve Houston not missing a beat.

Oswalt's thoughts on the Wesneski acquisition also holds a lot of weight, as he knows a thing or two about pitching for the Astros. Wesneski, 27, had been an oft-used swingman for the Cubs over the past two years, but he seemed to have figure things out in 2024 while bouncing around between roles.

The right-hander made 28 appearances (seven as a starter) and finished the year with a 3.86 ERA and 104 ERA+. FanGraphs predicts he'll open the upcoming season in Triple-A, but there's no reason to suspect he'll be down there for very long.