Astros looking like big winners of Kyle Tucker trade to Cubs after Dodgers contract originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Houston Astros decided last offseason to trade Kyle Tucker with a year remaining on his contract.
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A lot has happened since then. Tucker was sent to the Chicago Cubs, who had him in a season hampered by injury, and now Tucker has left in free agency for the Los Angeles Dodgers and an absurd four-year, $240 million contract.
The Astros can’t be feeling too bad about their end of the stick.
They got Isaac Paredes, Cam Smith and Hayden Wesneski in the trade.
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Paredes delivered as advertised with impressive power. The Astros actually appear to be considering a trade of him now, but that would just extend the asset roots originally stemming from Tucker.
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Smith showed flashes in his rookie season of a guy who could be a superstar if everything clicks right. If Smith pans out even a bit, the Astros were clear winners of the Tucker trade.
Wesneski is a reliable right-handed starting pitcher and still just 28 years old, so not a bad guy for Houston to have around, either.
If the Astros didn’t see themselves keeping Tucker long term, it was a great haul in return for what amounted to a one-year rental for the Cubs.
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Chicago ended up trading away those three pieces for Tucker, getting a less-than-ideal year from him, and then watching him walk away for nothing.
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It was a bit surprising on principle that the Cubs didn’t seek to keep Tucker after making the trade just a year ago, but evidently Chicago didn’t see itself going to the price the Dodgers paid.
So the Cubs are now empty-handed, while the Astros have plenty of evidence of a solid trade.
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