This trade Tucks
The Cubs desperately needed a star, and they just got one


When the Cubs ended the disappointing 2024 season it was clear that they needed to improve their offense, but a look at the returning lineup didn’t afford much flexibility. Some big brains decided the most obvious thing to do was to go get a big bat at catcher to push Miguel Amaya to the bench. Sure. Because great offensive catchers are just laying around all over the place.
“Oh dear, I just stepped on 1972 Johnny Bench!1 I guess we’ll just sign him.”
When Cody Bellinger told the Cubs he would not opt out of his $27.5 million salary for 2025 the roster locked in even more. The Cubs had Ian Happ and his no-trade clause in left, Dansby Swanson and his no-trade clause at short, Seiya Suzuki and his no-trade clause at DH, Bellinger in right, Michael Busch at first, Isaac Paredes at third and Nico Hoerner at second. All of them are nice players, but none of them are remotely close to being stars. That left catcher, which…no, and center where our beautiful baby boy Petecrow Armstrong roams.
So what was Jed Hoyer to do?
Well, given the creativity he had displayed in his first four years as the president of baseball shenanigans, nothing.
The Cubs had a decent lineup but one that wasn’t good enough and a raft of solid prospects but no guaranteed stud on the horizon.
When he mumbled his way through his end of the season press conference he seemed a man who had done nothing and was out of ideas.
Well, we can’t say that anymore. On Friday, the Cubs and Astros agreed to a trade that will send now two-time former Cub Isaac Paredes, pitcher Hayden Wesneski and the Cubs 2024 first-round pick Cam Smith to Houston for (hold onto your butts) one of the best players in baseball, Kyle Tucker.
Tucker will immediately become the Cubs’ best right fielder since the guy who played out there before Jeromy Burnitz, and he’s the best position player (and probably just player, period2) acquired via trade by the Cubs since Derrek Lee in 2004.
The move will make Seiya a full-time DH, something his agent says Seiya’s not too keen on, and I kind of wonder if the Cubs asking him if he’d be willing to waive his no-trade clause in case he was needed to be part of the package in this trade was a way to scare him straight. “You got a nice everyday roster spot here, Seiya. Be a shame if anything happened to it.”
The whole idea was that the lineup Hoyer had built played like the parking break was stuck on because they were good supporting players in need of a star to actually support.
And that’s what Tucker is.