Astros back themselves into a corner with Kyle Tucker thanks to sign-stealing scandal

The Houston Astros are at a crossroads this offseason. The team has no interest in rebuilding — nor should it, considering the talent on the roster and the state of the AL West right now. But there isn't a ton of money to spend, at least with owner Jim Crane reluctant to push into the luxury tax. Alex Bregman is a free agent, and the fallback options at third base are less than ideal. But re-sign Bregman, and it's hard to see the team having any chance to keep outfielder Kyle Tucker or lefty Framber Valdez when the pair hit free agency next winter. Which direction should Houston go?

We appeared to get our answer toward the end of the Winter Meetings on Wednesday, as the rumor mill began to kick into overdrive about the team's willingness to trade Tucker now rather than risk losing him for nothing in 12 months. Tucker isn't Juan Soto, but he's an awesome player in his own right, as he gets set to turn 28 next month, he could reasonably ask for $400-500 million on the open market. All the teams who fell short in their pursuit of Soto figure to be interested, plus several others, and dealing him could give Houston the young, cost-controlled talent it needs to keep this window of contention wide open.

Unfortunately, there's just one problem there: It sure sounds like the shadow cast by the team's 2017 sign-stealing scandal is getting in the way of Dana Brown securing the best possible package.

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Cheating scandal hurt the Astros' return for Kyle Tucker

The two teams hottest on the heels of Tucker so far appear to be the Chicago Cubs and the New York Yankees, each of whom is looking for a middle-of-the-order bat to vault them into World Series contention in 2025. But the Cubs already have a glut of outfielders, and have been looking to trade Cody Bellinger to free up roster and financial flexibility for weeks now.

Including Bellinger in a potential Tucker deal could make some sense ... were it not for the fact that Bellinger is apparently a non-starter for the Astros, based on comments the former Los Angeles Dodger made about Houston in the wake of the 2017 World Series.

Bellinger called out Crane by name, calling his apology (in addition to Rob Manfred's punishment) "weak" and accusing Jose Altuve of stealing the 2017 AL MVP Award from rightful winner Aaron Judge. "I know I personally lost respect for those guys," Bellinger said.

Granted, that was years ago now, but the comments were so cutting that it's hard to imagine Crane or anyone else associated with the Astros would be willing to forgive and forget.

Which is a problem, because if you're going to rule out anyone who had something negative to say about the team over the last few years, you're going to run out of options fairly quickly. Arguably no one has been more vocally critical of the Astros than Yankees GM Brian Cashman, who went out of his way to put an asterisk on the team's 2017 title just six weeks ago. Having missed on Soto and needing a lefty-hitting corner outfielder, New York would figure to be an ideal trade partner. As things stand, though, bad blood seems to be getting in the way.

According to NJ.com's Randy Miller, the Yankees have reached out to Houston about Tucker, but Cashman's initial offer was nowhere near what the Astros want.

“I talked to someone with the Astros’ front office and was told the Yankees didn’t offer anything the Astros wanted,” a source told Miller. “Nothing. They think the Yankees have offered crap.”

Just what did that "crap" look like? No Luis Gil, no Nestor Cortes, no Jasson Dominguez, no Spencer Jones, no George Lombard.

"Besides not offering a top-six prospect, the Yankees also have excluded shortstop Oswald Perazaand outfielder Everson Pereira in proposals, the person said."

There's no chance that Cashman thought that was an acceptable offer, even as a way to open the negotiations. Rather, this seems like a pointed message: "Let us know if you're serious about trading him to the Yankees, and then we'll get serious with you." Maybe Crane and the Astros won't have to swallow their pride; maybe another team swoops in and pays the price Houston is looking for. Right now, though, it looks like something's going to have to give.