HOUSTON — He’s been a fixture for the Houston Astros in their string of postseason runs, but the team is open to a trade involving right fielder Kyle Tucker.
Why? According to KHOU 11’s Jason Bristol, if they trade for him now, they can get some players who can immediately help them and/or some who can help them in the future. After the upcoming season, Tucker’s a free agent and the team may get a draft pick if he leaves.
The Astros could certainly get good return on Tucker should they decide to go in that direction. On a recent episode of Extra Bases, Bristol and former MLB scout Jeremy Booth talked about why Tucker would be a good addition to any team.
Booth compared Tucker to Juan Soto, who signed with the Mets this offseason for a record $765 million on a 15-year contract.
“You’ve got Tucker and Soto, who are comparable by the all-powerful WAR (Wins Over Replacement) stat, if you think Tucker staying here, why are we keeping him for a draft pick? He's out,” Booth said. “The Yankees or the Red Sox, probably not the Dodgers, probably not the Padres, you know, Nationals? Somewhere. He's out. So, we might as well go ahead and do that now.”
The WAR stat Booth mentions is how many wins a player is worth over a replacement at that position. Here’s the formula MLB.com has for calculating it.
Booth said Astros general manager Dana Brown should pull the trigger on a deal.
"Dana has gotta move the guy," Booth said. "I don't know how to tell you. I mean, everybody's gonna hate ... he's got to move the guy. You know, if your owner is not going to re-sign him, he's got to move him. If your owner is going to re-sign him, it should have been done by now."
You can hear the entire Extra Bases episode in the video player of this story, including what the Astros could possibly get in return. Plus, get the latest on Alex Bregman, who's still a free agent and pitcher Framber Valdez, who could also be a trade possibly as he enters his final season before he's eligible for free agency.