The New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs "have shown interest" in Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker amid the MLB winter meetings in Dallas, according to MLB Network's Jon Morosi.
Tucker has one year remaining under arbitration before he is scheduled to hit free agency in 2026. The Astros would be "comfortable" with him playing out the contract in Houston, per Morosi.
Tucker was sidelined for three months of the 2024 season with a fractured shin. He still earned his third straight All-Star nod while slashing .289/.408/.585 with 23 home runs and 49 RBI in 78 games.
The Astros star was one of the most efficient home-run hitters in the MLB during his shortened season. As noted by the MLB network, Tucker recorded one home run per 14.7 plate appearances last season, ranking him third only to the New York Yankees' Aaron Judge and Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani.
That could make him an appealing candidate for the Yankees as the club works on replacing Juan Soto, who signed a record-breaking deal with the New York Mets this weekend after recording a career-high 41 home runs in 2024.
The Cubs, meanwhile, are reportedly considering trading Cody Bellinger and could use Tucker to replace him in the lineup should they complete a deal for the outfielder.
When asked about whether the Astros would listen to trades for either Tucker or pitcher Framber Valdez, general manager Dana Brown told reporters on Monday that the club will "listen on anybody" (h/t Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle.)
"If it doesn't make sense, we wouldn't do it," Brown said on Monday, per Kawahara. "So it really would have to make sense. Because right now we're a good team, and we're not motivated to move any of these guys."
Brown added: "We will not make any trades that don't make sense in terms of winning the division, getting back to the postseason and all that. We're not trying to break the team down. So the trade would have to make sense in that we're not weakening our club."
There is still a "higher chance" that the Astros decide to keep Tucker in their batting order than trade him ahead of the 2025 season, Morosi said on the MLB Network broadcast.
But Morosi noted that free-agent prices are "high" this season, and that could encourage more interest in trades. Brown will have to decide if the increasing market prices lead to any offers worth losing the final season on Tucker's deal.
Tucker has played all seven seasons of his MLB career in Houston and helped the team win the World Series in 2022. Should he leave this winter the Astros would be left with a gap to address in their batting lineup and outfield.
