Trading Kyle Tucker, Framber Valdez Could Be 'Easiest Path' for Houston Astros

An MLB insider considered what the Houston Astros trading Kyle Tucker or Framber Valdez could do for the team.

Sep 21, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker (30) watches his home run against the Los Angeles Angels in the seventh inning at Minute Maid Park. / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Heading into the Winter Meetings, the Houston Astros are one of the more interesting teams in Major League Baseball.

There's a lot the Astros have to do to get back to the top, but with a below-average farm system and the front office typically unwilling to spend heavily on free agents, getting there might be difficult.

Houston could do a few different things depending on what they plan to do in the future.

If the Astros want to compete for a World Series, spending money is the direction they have to take. Their pipeline situation certainly presents problems, but if they were willing to spend at a high rate, then this could outweigh that issue.

Given that isn't expected the case, where should Houston go from here?

Chandler Rome of The Athletic proposed an interesting scenario, writing about how trading Kyle Tucker or Framber Valdez could help the Astros' present and future.

"Making either Kyle Tucker or Framber Valdez available in trade discussions may be the easiest path for Houston to balance its present and future. Both men are estimated to make more than $15 million in their final trip through the arbitration process. Next winter, both will demand the sort of free-agent deals Crane is loath to give. Parting with either Valdez or Tucker would not signal a rebuild, but would bring back the sort of prospect haul to help stabilize a fledgling farm system."

Anything regarding Tucker just doesn't seem to make much sense.

At some point, Houston has to realize they can't let players of his caliber walk.

Sure, the trade package the Astros would receive could help the organization going forward, but any player they get back in a trade likely won't be half of what Tucker is.

When speaking about the star outfielder, an interesting point is that whoever doesn't land Juan Soto might be willing to trade for the left-handed slugger.

But even if they get a team willing to overpay, what do a few good prospects do for this franchise right now?

They're in as much of a win-now situation as any team in baseball, and unless they flipped those prospects for proven big league talents, it's tough to see how this would work out.

Factor in that those players would also likely be expensive, and moving Tucker just doesn't make sense.

He's a franchise player and someone Houston needs to do everything to re-sign when the time comes next winter.

Valdez is a different story, but it's also important that the front office remembers all the injuries they've dealt with. He's an ace-caliber arm and has thrown in at least 176 1/3 innings in each of the last three campaigns.