The Chicago Cubs made a big trade with the Houston Astros. The Cubs gave up three players to acquire All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker. Houston received two infielders and a pitcher to prepare for Alex Bregman’s transfer.
MLB.com reported on the 14th (Korea time) that the Cubs and Houston have agreed to a one-on-three trade. The Cubs will receive a tucker from Houston, and Houston will acquire infielder Isaac Paredes, third baseman Cam Smith and right-handed pitcher Hayden Wesneski from the Cubs. Paredes moved to the Cubs from the Tampa Bay Rays and played third base. Smith is a rising star, ranking seventh in the Cubs and 73rd overall in the prospect rankings. Houston seems to be preparing for Bregman’s transfer. Wesneski is an all-weather pitcher who can start and bullpen.
Tucker’s transfer is the key to this trade. Since his big league debut with the Houston Astros in 2018, Tucker has hit .274, OPS .870 and 125 home runs and 417 RBIs in seven seasons. Starting with his first 30 home runs in 2021, Tucker has recorded 116 home runs in the last four seasons. He played in only 78 games this season due to injury, but he has hit 23 home runs. This year’s OPS of 0.993 is a career-high. “The Cubs were looking for a way to not only create variables in offense, but also to bring out stronger star power. The result is a big trade to buy Tucker,” MLB.com said.
“Tucker joins the Cubs, which have 83 wins over the past two seasons. The Cubs have failed to advance to the playoffs for the past two years. The players of the Cubs are thick, but they lacked destructive power in the central batting order. Tucker adds strength to coach Craig Counsell’s lineup. During this season, Tucker played in 78 games due to a broken right shin, posting a WAR of 4.7 (based on baseball reference). The player with the highest WAR at Cubs was shortstop Dansby Swanson, who posted the highest number through defense,” he added.
Tucker can aim for both the Gold Glove and the Silver Slugger. “Tucker had 23 home runs and 49 RBIs last year, and he had more walks (56) than strikeouts (54). He was named an All-Star for the third consecutive year. Since returning from injury, he had an OPS of 1.041 in 18 games. He won the Gold Glove as a right fielder in 2022 and the Silver Slugger Award last year. He was ranked fifth in the American League MVP voting last year,” MLB.com said.
However, the Cubs already have a starting right fielder. It is Seiya Suzuki. There is also Cody Bellinger, who can take over the right fielder, center fielder, and first baseman. Suzuki and Bellinger also had a chance to trade with Tucker even before Tucker was hired by the Cubs. “This means that Tucker joins the team to secure additional trade with the team,” MLB.com said. Among Suzuki and Bellinger, Bellinger is more likely to transfer to the team. 카지노사이트
The player that MLB.com paid most attention to in this trade is Smith, a promising player. The media outlet said, “It is easy to see why the Cubs tried to give up Smith to recruit a superstar (Tucker). It is also easy to see why Houston wants Smith. Smith was selected as the 14th overall pick in the draft, but the Cubs are full of fielders, MLB and Triple-A. Finding a place for Matt Shaw, the 22nd highest-ranking prospect in the top 100 rankings, was a priority over determining Smith’s future. Houston does not have many high-quality prospects. For now, Paredes seems to replace Bregman, and if Paredes stays in Houston, Smith could move to the outfield.”
