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Former Rays All-Star dealt back to American League in trade between Astros and Cubs

Isaac Paredes and the Crawford Boxes; a match made in heaven?

ByCarter Brantley|
Isaac Paredes is the centerpiece of a deal where the Cubs receive All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker and the Astros receive Paredes and a few other prospects. Can he take advantage of the short porch in left at Minute Maid Park?
Isaac Paredes is the centerpiece of a deal where the Cubs receive All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker and the Astros receive Paredes and a few other prospects. Can he take advantage of the short porch in left at Minute Maid Park? | Matt Dirksen/GettyImages

The Cubs and Astros engaged in a blockbuster deal this past week, with the former dealing Isaac Paredes, Cam Smith, and Hayden Weneski to the latter for outfielder Kyle Tucker.

Paredes came up with the Detroit Tigers and was dealt to the Tampa Bay Rays early in his career for former Rays outfielder, Austin Meadows.

He has enjoyed an immense amount of success over his 2.5 seasons with the Rays, employing an extreme, pulled-fly-ball approach that led to some excellent offensive seasons with Tropicana Field playing up his batted ball profile.

Paredes' peak came in 2023 with a 4.2 WAR season on the strength of a 136 wRC+ and 31 homers.

He struggled a bit in Chicago however, with Wrigley's huge left field doing him no favors, as he managed a 123 wRC+ for the 1st half of 2024 but after the trade posted a rough 83 wRC+ .

Is the trade to Houston likely to boost his numbers back to his Tampa Bay days as he can go back to being a pulled fly ball merchant? Perhaps, but Houston still has a huge hole to fill in dealing Kyle Tucker.

Tucker has been one of the most underrated players in baseball for a few years now, managing 5 WAR seasons over a three year span from 2021-2023, and in 2024 posting a 4.2 WAR season, despite only appearing in 78 games.

Kyle Tucker
Tucker isn't going to wow anyone with any one specific tool, but he's really good at pretty much everything, which when added together makes for a great player. | Tim Warner/GettyImages

He gets to those marks with consistently powerful hitting numbers, a decent approach at the plate, stolen base numbers that took a big jump once the new baserunning rules were established, and playing a fine right field, with outs above average marks that have mostly been positive (other than a dip in 2023).

Tucker is due to be a free agent after this season, explaining Houston's eagerness to rid themselves of the former 1st rounder.

He isn't going to be cheap, as he employs super agent Scott Boras and is, well, really good.

The Tampa native will turn 28 in January, meaning whatever team signs him to a long term deal might only be getting a few more prime seasons due to the severe nature of aging curves, but if he's able to replicate his past few seasons in 2025, he could parlay that performance into a good payday.

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