With news of Ronald Acuña Jr. not being ready for at least the first month of the season combined with the underperformance of Michael Harris II and Jarred Kelenic in 2024, the Atlanta Braves have been on the search for external outfield help heading into 2025.
The Braves have made it known they want an outfielder and prefer a left-handed bat. It seems odd that they prefer a lefty bat when they could find a righty to platoon with Jarred Kelenic. This indicates the team may not be confident in his ability to be an impact player and is saving him for a big trade this offseason.
In a recent article by The Athletic's Chandler Rome, he touched on the possibility that, in order to clear some payroll, the Astros could part with one of Kyle Tucker or Framber Valdez via trade. He explains this could feasibly happen as both players are expected to make more than $15 million in arbitration. Moving either of them would help with Houston trying to be cautious of the tax threshold and possibly bringing back Alex Bregman on a long-term deal.
Braves could fill their desire for a left-handed bat with Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker
The Atlanta Braves have made it clear they'd like to add a lefty outfield bat to their arsenal this offseason. Houston has a solution to this problem and his name is Kyle Tucker.
He is a great offensive weapon and provides quality defense in the outfield. He missed a good chunk of 2024 after fracturing his shin with a foul ball in early June before returning in September, but he performed rather well when he was on the field.
Tucker earned a .289/.408/.585 line over 339 plate appearances this season. He had 80 hits including 23 home runs, 13 doubles, 56 walks, 54 strikeouts, and 49 RBI. However, Kyle, the brother of former Braves outfielder Preston, has been named an All-Star three seasons in a row.
Anyone order another HR? pic.twitter.com/sTISHQS7o2
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 13, 2024
He's batted .275 over those three years with 78 doubles, 83 home runs, 195 walks, 241 strikeouts, and 268 RBI. Tucker's 145 OPS+ and 15.5 WAR over that span is very impressive. According to FanGraphs, only three outfielders have been worth more wins above replacement than Tucker since 2022.
There's a lot to like as Tucker excels at getting on base and putting the ball in play. He had a 15.9% K rate and a 16.5% BB rate in 2024. Those are elite numbers among all MLB batters and adding Tucker would give the Braves arguably the best outfield in baseball once Acuna Jr. is healthy.
Rome states that Tucker wouldn't signal a rebuild, but "bring back the sort of prospect haul to help stabilize a fledgling farm system". This means Houston would want a pretty hefty return to part with their talented slugger.
Astros GM Dana Brown has a familiar relationship as he served as former Vice President of Scouting for the Braves from 2019-2022. He will be very familiar with Atlanta's farm system and know the value he needs to part with Tucker.
This could be an incredibly tough pill for the Braves to swallow as parting with Drake Baldwin alone hurts to imagine. Hurston Waldrep is Atlanta's third-best prospect and the team has stated they'd like to hold on to him but of all prospects, he shouldn't be deemed "untouchable." However, he and Baldwin present Houston with solutions to two of their major needs and are both on the cusp of being MLB-ready.
Throw in 3B/1B prospect David McCabe along with international pitching prospect Jeremy Reyes, and you probably have a done deal. Houston has reportedly offered Alex Bregman a contract to return but that's not guaranteed to happen. Therefore, giving them a potential third base solution would be wise.
Again, this isn't something that is expected to happen. Kyle Tucker is extremely valuable and should Bregman exit in free agency, Houston will want to keep his bat in the lineup. However, if Dana Brown learned anything from Alex Anthopoulos, it's to consider every possible solution. This would be a beneficial trade for both sides, but only if AA could get Tucker to sign an immediate extension. Otherwise, this big of a trade for one year of his services would be a poor decision.