Houston Astros Suggested to Trade Superstar Outfielder in Offseason

The Houston Astros were suggested to trade Kyle Tucker for one major reason in the offseason.

May 26, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker (30) runs the bases after hitting a two run home run against the Oakland Athletics during the fourth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Astros entered the trade deadline with a clear need for a starting pitcher, and Dana Brown accomplished just that. However, the Astros might've made the worst trade out of any team in Major League Baseball due to what they gave up in return for a pitcher who's, at best, a No. 3 arm.

Yusei Kikuchi pitched well in his Houston debut, which could be a good sign for this ball blub moving forward. If he can continue to strikeout hitters at an elite level, which he has done for parts of his career, perhaps the deal won't look as bad in a few months as it does now.

However, what many are failing to understand is that the Astros already had one of the worst farm systems in baseball. For a team that's going to have multiple holes in the offseason to fill, this trade might pose a big issue. 

The pending free agency of Alex Bregman is certainly something to be mindful of. Bregman hasn't had a great year by any means, but since the team started playing better and is in a good position to make the postseason, Houston decided not to trade him at the deadline.

It likely wasn't going to happen, even if they had continued to struggle, but it could've been something that they thought about doing given the situation.

If they decide to bring Bregman back, that'll further complicate some of the moves that they can make in free agency. History would suggest that the Astros aren't necessarily too aggressive in free agency, which could mean that they only have one other option: trading players.

And Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com suggested they do just that, naming Kyle Tucker as a potential trade candidate. 

"The Astros have a difficult path forward, and unless they plan to be more active than usual in free agency, they may need to get creative on the trade market to retool for another World Series push. One potential option? Shopping Framber Valdez and/or Kyle Tucker, both of whom are controllable for only one more year after 2024 and could fetch big returns."

Tucker hits free agency at the end of the 2025 season, but trading him wouldn't make much sense for multiple reasons. Not only could he be a star on this roster for the next decade, but there's a good argument that he's arguably the best hitter in baseball when he's at his best.

Sure, there might be one or two other guys definitely better than him, but a three-time All-Star who's slashing .272/.350/.514 with an OPS+ of 137 and 121 home runs in 2,178 at-bats simply doesn't grow on trees.

He's only gotten better over the past few campaigns, too, hitting at least 29 home runs in each of the past three years. Before going down with this injury, he had 19 in 214 at-bats, a good indication that he was going to hit 30-plus.

The Florida native needs to be in a Houston jersey for the foreseeable future.