Trade ‘em both. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5982648/2024/12/09/astros-kyle-tucker-trade-inquiries/ Multiple people familiar with the club’s thinking said Brown is open to dealing one of Tucker or starter Framber Valdez, both of whom are set to make more than $15 million during their final trip through the arbitration process. Approximations have the Astros about $12 million under the first luxury tax threshold and it’s unclear if owner Jim Crane will authorize exceeding it for a second consecutive season. That the Astros are shopping setup man Ryan Pressly already suggests the club is searching for ways to create payroll space. As of now, no discussions are believed to be serious, according to one person familiar with the club’s plans, who added there are varying levels of interest within the organization about trading the players. “We’re not trying to aggressively move anybody out the door, but if someone wants to talk, that’s part of being at the Winter Meetings,” Brown said on Monday from the team’s suite at the Hilton Anatole. “Sometimes guys will think outside the box and say, ‘Hey would you guys do this guy or that guy.’ If it doesn’t make sense, we wouldn’t do it. It would really have to make sense. We’re a good team and we’re not motivated to move any of these guys.” Asked on Monday whether he believed Houston could still win the American League West without one of Valdez or Tucker, Brown replied, “Yes, I think we could.” “I think the team is good enough to,” Brown said. “It depends on what you get back in the return if you decide to go that way, but we will not make any trades that don’t make sense in terms of winning the division, getting back to the postseason and all that. We’re not trying to break the team down. The trade would have to make sense in that we’re not weakening our club.”
Last year the farm produced a SP who was pretty much dominant in his last 2 months/10 starts and contributed 145 innings of better than league average pitching. It was the first year in awhile that the farm didn’t produce a position player who was a legit ROY candidate. I also think Dezenzo’s injury setback prevented him from being more of a factor last season.
Losing Tuck would suck. They played some if their best baseball last year after he went down. When he came back he did nothing. If he's traded we have to nail that trade
Me too. Unfortunately that’s how a mid market team competes. You gotta give up 5 years to be good for 6 or 7 years.
If they trade one of Framber/Tucker, they need to trade both, along with Pena, Hader, Caratini, Pressly, and Abreu. The only way it makes sense is if they go into the 2025 season with a clean payroll outside of Altuve/Alvarez and one of the top 5 farms in baseball.
Except San Diego improved their record by diversifying... as did the 90s Mariners... somehow improving each year after shedding A Rod, Randy Johnson, and Griffey.
It brings joy to my heart that the rest of the MLB will be soon realize that we held back a greater evil.
Padres and Mets are examples. We don’t have to rebuild. Retool. Have to spend. But can trade away stars and still compete.
Yep, how many years in a row have the Stros had a top 10 ROY candidate? The farm has been one of the best in MLB over the last decade.
If Bregman leaves, I wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to a Correa trade… but I don’t trust his lower body issues to hold up over a full season at this point. I damn sure wouldn’t be willing to give up much to get him based on his health issues. However, there’s no doubt that he’d be a leader to replace the void of Bregman’s departure, and be loved in the clubhouse. When healthy, he was elite last year. I believe he posted over 4 WAR in about half a seasons worth of games
