Inside the Astros

Kyle Tucker Should be 'Astro For Rest of His Career,' Says GM

Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown knows that the pressure is building to get Kyle Tucker into a long-term deal.

Matthew Postins

Kyle Tucker Should be 'Astro For Rest of His Career,' Says GM
Kyle Tucker Should be 'Astro For Rest of His Career,' Says GM /
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Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker continues to make his case for a long-term contract after the season. The team’s general manager, Dana Brown, knows it.

In fact, when Brown spoke to Sports 790 on Wednesday, he basically guaranteed Tucker wasn’t going anywhere.

“Lemme put it to you this way, Kyle Tucker will be a Houston Astro,” Brown said. “We feel strongly about getting it done and I feel he will be an Astro for the rest of his career. We'll get it done.”

Tucker is playing on a one-year, $5 million deal, which is the first of his three arbitration seasons. So the Astros have his rights until he is eligible for free agency after the 2025 season.

But wouldn’t it make sense to get Tucker into a longer-term deal, perhaps at a bit of a discount?

The Astros and Tucker had those discussions in the spring but put them on pause once the season started. Tucker also reportedly turned down a $200 million deal. In arbitration, Tucker asked for $7.5 million and the Astros offered $5 million, with the Astros winning the case.

Tucker broke through with the Astros in 2018 but didn’t become a full-time contributor until the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. Despite the short season, he led the Majors with six triples.

Since then, his start has been on the rise. He’s been an American League All-Star each of the past two seasons. He’s hit 30 home runs in each of his last two seasons and drove in more than 100 runs (107) for the first time in 2022.

This season Tucker is making a run at being a 30/30 player for the first time. After his grand slam against Baltimore on Tuesday night, he has 20 home runs and 24 stolen bases, along with 82 RBI.

Per Spotrac.com, the Astros have the game’s seventh-largest payroll at $236 million, with $205 million allocated to the 26-man roster. Looking ahead to next season, the Astros have $168 million on the books, with a total tax allocation of $189.7 million.

That doesn’t include Tucker, who is part of a group of arbitration-eligible contributors this offseason that includes pitchers Framber Valdez, José Urquidy, Luis Garcia, Bryan Abreu and Brandon Bielak, along with position players Mauricio Dubón and Chas McCormick.

As far as Brown is concerned, Tucker isn’t going anywhere and he’s right. The question is whether the Astros find a way to sign him long-term this offseason.

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Matthew Postins
MATTHEW POSTINS

Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers the Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros for Sports Illustrated/FanNation. He also covers he Big 12 for Heartland College Sports.

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