The winter meetings are over, Juan Soto is a New York Met, and several of the marquee names on this year’s free-agent market and trade market have been on the move. But as teams started to pivot from their initial plans for this winter, the biggest issue soon became that there was no franchise-altering player available once Soto was off the market.
At least, that was the case until Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker became available.
Since arriving in the big leagues in 2019, Tucker has been a force for the Astros and the true definition of a five-tool player. He owns a .274/.353/.516 slash line with 125 home runs and 94 stolen bases, and he’s an elite defender in right field. Tucker was on pace to have the best year of his career last season — with 23 homers in 79 games — before a shin fracture from a foul ball forced him to miss significant time.
In recent weeks, it emerged that the Astros were open to moving the star outfielder.
On Friday, the Astros traded Tucker to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for infielder Isaac Paredes, pitcher Hayden Wesneski and third-base prospect Cam Smith.
The deal instantly makes Tucker the best player in Chicago. For Houston, Paredes has the ability to play third or first base with pull-side power that should play at Minute Maid Park. Wesneski is a versatile arm with good stuff who pitched in 68 games with 22 starts for the Cubs, with a respectable career 3.93 ERA.
But the crown jewel of the trade for the Astros is Smith. The Cubs’ 2024 first-round draft pick was one of the best hitters in college baseball before Chicago took him with the 14th overall pick last year. He performed well during his first year in pro ball, slashing .313/.396/.609 with seven homers and 24 RBI, and finished the year in Double-A.
What does this deal mean for the Astros?
The Astros have won a lot over the past decade, including two World Series titles. The only team that has won more games than Houston since 2015 is the Los Angeles Dodgers. But keeping their winning window open for that long comes at a cost, and it left the Astros’ prospect pool pretty thin. Sources aware of Houston’s thinking told Yahoo Sports that the hope was that a Tucker trade could help replenish the farm system that allowed the Astros to reach the ALCS in seven of the past eight seasons.
With such a trade now complete, Paredes slots into the Astros’ infield and lineup immediately, and Wesneski could fill multiple roles for Houston, either in the bullpen or the rotation,…