To say that the Astros’ 2025 outfield situation was chaotic would be an understatement. Between injury, position switching, matchup issues and outright ineffectiveness, the Astros used the following players
in the outfield: Jose Altuve, Cam Smith, Chas McCormick, Jake Meyers, Mauricio Dubon, Yordan Alvarez, Cooper Hummel, Jesus Sanchez, Taylor Trammell, Zach Dezenzo, Zach Cole, Kennedy Corona, Shay Whitcomb. A lot of guys for three positions. The effectiveness…well, Altuve ended up playing way more 2B than he did LF, Alvarez and Meyers logged a lot of time on IR, and everyone else shifted in and out of the lineup all year. Smith consistently played in the outfield, but after mid-summer, never really seemed to recover from hitting the “rookie wall”. Cole offered a spark at the end of the year, but will that carry over? Plus, the one-time hero McCormick might no longer be in Houston’s plans.
For those that follow Houston, the offensive struggles are well-ingrained, no matter how much Shiner Bock and Jack Daniels get leveraged to try to forget. Houston sacked their long-time hitting coaches and a major emphasis this offseason will be to try to get the run-scoring machine back in gear. One option that Houston might consider is hitting the free agent market. Perhaps the best weapon on the market is a familiar name: Kyle Tucker, most recently of the Chicago Cubs. After their season ended at the hands of the Brewers, Kyle Tucker is now a free agent for the 1st time in his career. Already, some speculation has started on the interwebs about bringing him back to H-town. Could they, and should they? Let’s discuss.
The Case For:
There is a reason he is seen as a coveted free agent target. He slashed .266/.377/.464 with 22 HRs, 73 RBIs and 25 SBs and made the All-Star Team. He got the Cubs through two rounds of the playoffs, and while his numbers weren’t quite as dominant (.259/.375/.370), he did little this season to dispel any thoughts of him not being a good free agent pickup. While Tucker wasn’t completely bulletproof (more on this later), he did log 136 games for the Cubs in the regular season, which would have led all regular Astros’ outfielders in games played (Altuve played in 155, but he was more at 2B than the outfield). Getting Tucker back into the Houston outfield would immediately elevate the ceiling for Houston’s lineup, and it also would provide Houston some better speed on the base paths (Tucker would’ve led the Astros in SBs this season by 5).
Astros don’t have problems with reunions. Crane isn’t afraid to get the band back together. Under his tenure, Verlander did two stints in Houston (can’t rule out #3, as Verlander is now free agent, and Houston is looking for starting pitching), and Correa is now working on his second tour. While Houston did ship out Tucker thinking they weren’t going to re-sign him and brought in some new players, Crane rarely shuts the door on talent. Tucker would certainly be a big move to get some championship caliber talent back in the building. If the “championship window will never close” while Crane runs the team, the return of Tucker adds more validity to that pronouncement.
There will be some actual financial room. Houston is not noted for the big free agent splurges, and last season, with Houston saddled with nearly $30M in dead money, a big extension did not seem in the works. Now, the bad contracts of Montero, Abreu and Pressly come off the books, opening up ~$35M. If you factor in the projected loss of Valdez, who had an $18M salary, that could give Houston nearly $50M to play with for salaries. Yes, there will be arbitration and other factors, but if Houston really wanted to bring Tucker back, it would have the resources to do so. Besides, Crane has shown that the CBT line is a factor, but not exactly an uncrossable one. To bring in Tucker would cost money, but if Houston really wanted to, they could bring him back.
Player trades: It is no secret that Houston’s farm system is rated among the worst in MLB. Mainly since Houston did what a contending team should and traded prospects to get in-season talent at the MLB-level to win titles, it is not unexpected. However, bringing in Tucker might open the door for Houston to off-load some other players likely blocked by his return. McCormick’s stock really fell this season, and while he might not bring in the prospects he might have last offseason, he could net a return. Sanchez didn’t perform near as well as expected. With a decent salary and some team control, he could be another outfield option to ship off. Likely Meyers could be dealt, especially if the team feels that Smith will bounce back from the rookie wall and adapt to the outfield. This could alleviate some of the resource constraints if Houston brings back Tucker.
King Tuck fires up the fanbase. A reunion would certainly fire up the fanbase. King Tuck became a beloved figure in Houston. With Altuve, Correa and now Tucker, the reunion factory would excite some interest, especially if there are concerns that people won’t tune in to the Astros after a playoff miss.
The Case Against:
Injury concerns. Maybe with the firing of the head trainer, Houston can fix its horrendous rep for injuries diagnosis and recovery. Tucker was a key victim in 2024 and he did miss over a month in 2025 due to injury. If Houston brings him in as a big-ticket free agent, there is a lot riding on him staying healthy. If he gets back to his other 2020s full season numbers of logging over 135 games, up to 145-150, then it will work for Houston. However, there are uncertainties with injuries, and who can say if Tucker will live up to the promise of such a deal.
Is Houston really going to pony up that kind of money? Even if Tucker didn’t have a MVP-level season, he will still cost a lot of money. Projections hold that Tucker will command between $350-$400M, likely over a long period of years (7+). Houston just doesn’t give out those contracts. They didn’t with Correa, Springer or Bregman. It is unlikely that they will want to devote a big chunk of their newfound money to just one player, when the team also said that finding starting pitching is a priority. Tucker is not likely to give Houston a big discount, and if Houston can finagle some sort of team-friendly deal, it is entirely possible it is because Tucker’s medical exams reveal something significant to drive down his value. Plus, Houston’s recent free-agent forays haven’t exactly been great for ROI. Tucker would be a better player than Abreu or Walker, but can Houston avoid some more bad free agent luck?
Messing up the team-building. As stated before, Houston could use the signing of Tucker to free up some spots by trading other outfielders. Yet, even if Houston did that, they would sacrifice MLB-level depth and likely continue to stay in the CBT penalty areas for salary. That will mean lower draft picks and smaller international player bonus pools, things that will hinder Houston restocking of the farm system for depth and longer-term success. Also, would Houston actually get any returns of note from the traded outfielders stated earlier? Also, Houston would have to forfeit one of their valuable draft picks to counter the projected qualifying offer that Tucker will get this offseason from the Cubs. Plus, with the team already top heavy, losing Tucker to any significant injury, ala 2024 or 2025, would put the team in a bad spot.
Final Analysis: While getting a player like Tucker could solve a number of offensive and positional player problems, it seems likely that this sort of reunion is not in the cards. Houston isn’t one to go big into free agency, especially with one player. Given Tucker’s age, you might get more ROI over the majority of the deal, but anything that takes you past 34-35, and you start facing the fear of diminishing returns. If Houston planned to retain Tucker, they would have done so when it was financially more viable. Sure, he could help out the lineup, and it would be quite funny to get him back after renting him to the Cubs that also gave Houston some solid MLB-level pieces (the evolution of Smith could make that trade even more favorable to Houston). However, barring some sort of out-of-character action, Tucker will not call Houston home in 2026.
