The Houston Astros are in a precarious position. They’ve been the dominant club in the American League over the last decade, winning a couple of World Series and appearing in several more. However, they’ve lost quite a bit of talent from those clubs over the years, and their roster continues to age and get more expensive.
Houston’s top priority this offseason is to retain third baseman Alex Bregman. That feels almost like a 50/50 proposition at this point, and they may need to move around some salary to make it work. Which Astros GM Dana Brown recently acknowledged at MLB’s winter meetings, stating they’ll listen on any player if the deal makes sense.
“If we think we can improve this club by trade, we will do it,” Brown said, via Chandler Rome of The Athletic. “It’s got to make sense for us because, right now, we’re projected to win the division again. We have a good team. If we can try to improve the team, we will do it if it makes sense. If it doesn’t make sense, we’ll stick with the club that we have and we’ll roll along.”
Two names that are rumored to be on the trade market are Framber Valdez and Kyle Tucker, who just so happen to fill the Braves’ most glaring needs this offseason. Both are in the final year of their respective contracts, and it’ll be difficult for the Astros to retain them after this season, especially if they hand out the money necessary to keep Bregman.
Valdez is projected to earn around $19 million in arbitration in 2025. Given the current state of the starting pitching market, that’s one of the best bargains in baseball. He’s finished inside the top 10 of the AL Cy Young race in each of the last three seasons and is coming off a year in which he posted a 2.91 ERA over 28 starts.
While Valdez will have no shortage of suitors, Kyle Tucker may actually be the more coveted of the two. He’s been an All-Star in each of the last three seasons, and though he only played in 76 games this year, he still recorded 4.7 WAR. Tucker might not quite be on the same level as a guy like Juan Soto, but he’s not far off, especially given his ability in the outfield and on the basepaths.
Both players will require quite a bit of prospect capital if the Astros decide to move one of them. The Braves aren’t exactly ripe with top prospects, but it might be easier for Dana Brown, who was previously the Director of Scouting for the Braves, to strike a trade with Alex Anthopoulos, given Brown’s familiarity with Atlanta’s farm system.
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Photo: Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sports
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