Houston Astros Shocking Tucker Trade Could Mean Alex Bregman Will Join Yankees

The Houston Astros have tipped their hand with the Kyle Tucker trade, and it could mean Alex Bregman heads to the New York Yankees.

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The Houston Astros sent shockwaves across Major League Baseball on Friday afternoon when they shipped superstar outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs after days of speculation.

In return for the star, the Astros acquired third baseman Isaac Paredes, pitcher Hayden Wesneski, and infielding prospect Cam Smith.

It's a nice package for Houston after the writing was on the wall that they were not going to be able to keep Tucker beyond this upcoming season.

Tucker is expected to get a massive deal next winter, and for the Astros, it never seemed like they were going to be the ones to pay it.

This now leaves the conundrum of what's next in what already is a tough offseason for the fan base to swallow.

The free agency of Alex Bregman still looms over the team, but motivations to keep him just got a whole lot lower with Tucker being sent away and the team staring down the prospect of a potential rebuild.

Paredes, who has a career .755 OPS, is likely being brought in as the team's new third baseman and is six years younger than Bregman.

The unfortunate reality is this could mean Bregman's destination is to a heated rival.

Also involved in trying to swing a deal for Tucker was the New York Yankees, so after losing Juan Soto and now coming in second in these sweepstakes, the Yanks could look to make a big move by bringing in Bregman instead.

The path for this nightmare situation to become reality is seemingly becoming more clear.

The Boston Red Sox had interest, but it appears to have cooled off based on some of the recent reports coming out from that franchise.

At that point, it would really just leave New York bidding against the Detroit Tigers - the outlier finalist - for Bregman's signature. And if they both want the star third baseman and it goes to a bidding war, it's not hard to figure out which way that will end.

After so many iconic playoff moments, especially the success over the Yankees in the postseason during the seven-year run of American League dominance for Houston, seeing Bregman wind up in Pinstripes would be absolutely devastating for Astros fans to witness.

But fans should probably prepare for that reality, because it certainly seems to be the way things are trending.