Last week, the Houston Astros announced the surprise trade of All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs. Throughout the season, there was not much expectation of the Astros trading Tucker, as the discourse was more focused on him potentially getting an extension with the club. However, as the offseason went on, rumors of him being in a trade jumped, resulting in a quick whirlwind turn of events for Astros fans. An Alex Bregman extension was what the fans were debating, not whether King Tuck should get traded.
However, Kyle Tucker being traded began to make more sense after everything went down. It fit what the front office does and it was needed. Here’s why.
The Astros are in position to win the Kyle Tucker trade
Tucker has one year left prior to hitting free agency, and based on the current market, with Juan Soto getting a massive contract with the Mets, Tuck will also more than likely receive a huge new deal from a lucky club nexy winter. That would almost certainly not be the Astros, because Jim Crane does not have a history or desire of handing out such contracts. Additionally, besides 2021, Tucker has not been a good postseason performer, with no contribution offensively the last two Octobers.
The Cubs may end up signing Tucker to a long-term deal as well, but in terms of this trade, all they are getting is one year of King Tuck’s services. In return, the Astros received two infielders and a relief/starting pitcher that they plan to convert into a starter full-time. Houston received Isaac Paredes, who is primarily a third baseman but can also play first base.
The 2024 All-Star is not an elite player, but is a good MLB level infielder who has the potential to shine at Daikin Park, with the short left field porch in the Crawford Boxes. Paredes’ spray chart points strongly towards that area of the field, as he is a heavy right-handed pull hitter, with all 19 of his 2024 home runs heading towards left field. Astros general manager Dana Brown noted that they are targeting Paredes to be a 25-home run hitter this season, which seems highly possible.
The most important part of the trade was infielder prospect Cam Smith, who is also currently a third baseman, but is a slugger who Brown and the Astros expect to play in the outfield as well. Smith is now the Astros' top prospect, ranked at No. 73 overall according to MLB Pipeline. The 14th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft has been considered to be a strong prospect, hitting .313 in his first year in the minors (27 Single-A, 5 Double-A games).
Based on how his progression is looking, if Smith turns out to be a great big league player, the Astros clearly won this trade, whether the Cubs extend Tucker or not.
Finally, the Astros also received Hayden Wesneski, a native of the Houston area, who also went to high school in Cypress and attended Sam Houston State University. The sweeper-centric pitcher possesses strong movement on his pitches and high velocity; however, his fastball requires some work. The Astros coaching staff has done an incredible job fixing pitchers and developing them, so this is not a new case for the team. Whether the right-hander is actually effective as a starter remains to be seen, but Brown and Houston are quite optimistic.
Overall, the Astros received a great amount of return that seems to fit some serious needs. Most importantly, they got something back for trading Kyle Tucker instead of letting a franchise-altering player who made the game winning catch of the 2022 World Series and contributed many incredible moments walk for nothing.