3 more Astros who won't be back in 2025 after Kyle Tucker trade

The Houston Astros entered the 2024 offseason with an impossible dilemma on their hands. Kyle Tucker is one of the best players in baseball, but he also is set to become a free agent after the 2025 campaign. The Astros could've either held onto him and given themselves the best possible chance to win in 2025 even if they knew Tucker was going to leave in free agency, or they could've traded him, ensuring that they get a good return for a player that they knew was going to leave. They chose the latter.

Dana Brown agreed to a deal that sent Tucker to the Chicago Cubs on Friday, ending his seven-year tenure in Houston. Losing a player of Tucker's ability is virtually impossible to rebound well from, but the Astros did get a solid return with Isaac Paredes as the headliner.

Tucker departing feels like just the start. There's reason to believe that these three Astros players will also not be with the team when the 2025 season officially gets underway.

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3) It's time for the Astros to officially let Hector Neris pitch elsewhere

In 2022 and 2023, Hector Neris was one of the most important pitchers in the Astros bullpen. He wasn't the closer that he was with the Philadelphia Phillies, but proved to be even better working as a set-up man. His great years in Houston led him to receive a deal that the Astros deemed to pricey to match with the Chicago Cubs.

Unfortunately, Neris was not nearly the same guy in Chicago while working as the team's primary closer. With that (and his contract incentives) in mind, the Cubs elected to DFA and release the right-hander, leaving him available to sign with any of the 30 teams. Naturally, he made a return to Houston.

While it felt as if the Astros had a chance to help Neris rebound, his struggles continued, as he allowed 11 runs (eight earned) in his 16 appearances and 15.1 innings of work with Houston down the stretch.

The Astros could use some more bullpen help, but they can and should do a lot better than Neris.

2) There's no reason for the Astros to bring Justin Verlander back

Justin Verlander is one of the greatest pitchers in Astros history. He won two Cy Youngs in Houston, finished as the AL Cy Young runner-up once, and helped them win two World Series. This past season, though, saw Verlander pitch like a shell of his former brilliant self.

The right-hander posted a 5.48 ERA in 17 starts and 90.1 innings of work during the regular season. He had two stints on the IL, limiting his workload, and when he was able to pitch, he was not effective. in fact, the team chose to omit him from their postseason roster entirely, showing just how far he has fallen.

The team could elect to bring him back. Depth is always super important, particularly when it comes to starting pitching. However, Verlander showed that he cannot be trusted to pitch every fifth day this past season. He's now 41 years old. He'll be 42 years old by Opening Day. It feels more likely that Verlander will retire than it is that the Astros will bring him back.

1) The Astros might've just acquired their Alex Bregman replacement

Let me make one thing very clear. There is a path for the Astros to bring Alex Bregman back. Paredes is primarily a third baseman but does have 71 games at first base in his career. The Astros can conceivably bring Bregman back to man the hot corner and move Paredes across the diamond for first base. Is that likely though? It doesn't feel like it.

The Astros traded Tucker because they did not want to give him the massive contract he's going to fetch on the open market next offseason. Based on how they've always operated, what makes anyone think that they want to pay Bregman what he's going to earn in free agency? If the Astros did bring him back, it'd almost certainly be on the biggest deal Jim Crane has ever signed. How realistic is that to expect?

Bregman is an Astros icon but he's also coming off his worst season. His .768 OPS this past season was a career-low. His walk rate (6.9 percent) tied a career low. His defense is still among the best in the sport at the hot corner, and he does have some power, but again, how likely is it that Crane will want to give Bregman the massive deal he's going to get when he's on the wrong side of 30 and is coming off his worst season?

It feels far more likely that Houston will keep Paredes at third base and pursue a guy like Christian Walker on a cheaper deal than what Bregman will get. That's by no means a guarantee, but it wouldn't be a shocking outcome at all at this point.