The Astros have traded outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Cubs, per reports. Houston will get back a package consisting of Isaac Paredes, Hayden Wesneski and Cam Smith.
Tucker has one year left of arbitration in 2025 and will then need a new contract. Houston’s front office has shied away from signing players to mega deals, hence why George Springer, Carlos Correa and now Tucker all play for different teams.
The Astros bring in a reliable utility infielder in Paredes, a solid reliever in Wesneski and a third base prospect in Smith.
Here are the full details of the trade.
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Kyle Tucker trade details
Astros acquires:
- IF Isaac Paredes
- RP Hayden Wesneski
- 3B Cam Smith
Cubs acquires:
Houston avoids having to deal with Tucker’s contract and gets younger overall. Paredes has moved around a lot but will turn 26 next year. He can play third base or first base and will bring some versatility to the infield while having three years of arbitration left.
Wesneski is 27 years old and has two more years of team control left. He finished 2024 with a 3-6 record and a 3.86 ERA in 67.2 innings of work. Wesneski has started and come out of the pen in his career. He could fill holes in both for the Astros.
Smith may be the bright spot of the return for the Astros. He was MLB.com’s No. 73 overall prospect at the end of the 2024 campaign. Smith was the 14th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, made it to AA already and has an ETA to be in the major leagues in 2026. He likely won’t fill the hole left by Bregman hitting free agency in 2025, but he could take over the hot corner if all things go to plan in 2026.
Tucker is a lefty power bat that should hit near the top of the Cubs’ batting order. It will be interesting to see what kind of deal Chicago signs him to if it extends him.
The Cubs may not be done moving outfielders around, as reports suggest Cody Bellinger could now be headed to the Yankees, but that is still a rumor.
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Kyle Tucker stats
Tucker will turn 28 in January. He was drafted out of high school with the fifth overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft.
Tucker debuted in July 2018 but struggled. He started the 2019 season in the minors, getting called up when rosters expanded that September. Tucker looked more comfortable and spent most of the COVID-shortened 2020 season at the big league level.
He has been full-time in the majors since 2021. Tucker only played half a season in 2024, dealing with a right shin injury, but was activated before the end of the season and should be healthy heading into 2025.
| Year | Games | Hits | Home Runs | RBI | Average | Stolen Bases |
| 2018 | 28 | 9 | 0 | 4 | .141 | 1 |
| 2019 | 22 | 18 | 4 | 11 | .269 | 5 |
| 2020 | 58 | 56 | 9 | 42 | .268 | 8 |
| 2021 | 140 | 149 | 30 | 92 | .294 | 14 |
| 2022 | 150 | 140 | 30 | 107 | .257 | 25 |
| 2023 | 157 | 163 | 29 | 112 | .284 | 30 |
| 2024 | 78 | 80 | 23 | 49 | .289 | 11 |
| Career | 633 | 615 | 125 | 417 | .274 | 94 |
Astros projected 2025 lineup
- Jose Altuve (2B)
- Isaac Paredes (3B)
- Yordan Alvarez (DH)
- Yainer Diaz (C)
- Jonathan Singleton (1B)
- Jeremy Pena (SS)
- Mauricio Dubon (RF)
- Chas McCormick (LF)
- Jake Meyers (CF)
Winter meetings wrapped up earlier this week, so Houston has plenty of time to make more deals. Their biggest team right now is a starting pitcher and outfielders.
Cubs projected 2025 lineup
- Ian Happ (CF)
- Dansby Swanson (SS)
- Kyle Tucker (RF)
- Seiya Suzuki (DH)
- Michael Busch (1B)
- Nico Hoerner (3B)
- Pete Crow-Armstrong (LF)
- Miles Mastrobuoni (2B)
- Miguel Amaya (C)
The biggest name not present in the lineup is Bellinger. I do think either he or Suzuki gets moved, but the Cubs would be better off trading Bellinger to get his contract off the books.
Granted, any trade could involve Chicago eating some of the money, but with the Yankees interested, it feels like Bellinger may be gone. Hoerner’s name has also been thrown around in a Bellinger deal, so Chicago’s projected lineup could look radically different than 2024 with just one or two more deals.
