Outfielder Juan Soto bolting for a historic deal with the New York Mets leaves the New York Yankees in need of more offense for their 2025 roster. Can general manager Brian Cashman find a way to land Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros in a blockbuster trade?
Tucker's availability has been a hot topic in recent days since the Astros are reportedly open to having trade conversations with interested teams. He's estimated to earn $16.7 million in 2025, which is his final year of team control before reaching free agency.
The left-handed slugger has quietly been a consistently elite offensive producer over the past four seasons. Tucker has slashed .280/.362/.527 while averaging 28 home runs, 29 doubles, 90 RBI and 77 runs scored per year since 2021.
How could Cashman convince the Astros to cut ties with Tucker? MLB Network proposed the following hypothetical swap:
- Yankees receive: outfielder Kyle Tucker
- Astros receive: right-handed pitcher Luis Gil, catcher/first baseman Ben Rice and infielder Roderick Arias
This feels like quite the overpay for what could potentially be one year of Tucker. MLB.com ranks Arias as the Yankees' fourth-best prospect. Rice posted a .613 OPS in 178 plate appearances as a rookie but slugged 24 homers with a .968 OPS in 2024 between Double-A and Triple-A. Gil is fresh off winning American League Rookie of the Year honors after going 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 171 strikeouts in 151 2/3 innings pitched.
The Yankees giving up this kind of package to land Tucker is incredibly unlikely and would probably have to come with a guarantee of the slugger signing a long-term extension. According to Spotrac, Tucker's market value is for seven years and $195 million.
