Braves dream trade for Ronald Acuña Jr. replacement just got more realistic

The Atlanta Braves have been struggling to replace the production of Ronald Acuña Jr. ever since the superstar outfielder went down with a torn ACL, but can you blame them? They're trying to replace a player that hit over 40 home runs and stolen over 70 bases last year. It's nearly impossible to do that.

One player that they drew instant connection to was the Astros star outfielder, Kyle Tucker. But it wasn't quite obvious if Tucker would be made available, as the Astros were looking to extend him past his final year of arbitration.

But Chandler Rome of The Athletic seems to think that Houston is running out of time to sign that extension.

Astros insider opens the door to Kyle Tucker being moved this season

"... the time to sign Tucker to an Astros-centric extension has long passed ... His representatives at Excel Sports Management will demand the sort of contract Crane has long been loath to give, beginning a saga that's played out across the past six seasons. George Springer, Gerrit Cole, Carlos Correa and Dallas Keuchel, all lived it. All ended up elsewhere," Rome wrote.

This idea that Tucker could be looking to enter free agency following next year could spell disaster for the Astros. They likely won't contend this season and they face losing other stars in the offseason.

That leaves them with a year and a half left of Kyle Tucker before he enters free agency. So, wouldn't it make sense to at least field trade offers for the star, while he's at his highest value?

Brad Wakai of Inside the Astros seems to agree with Rome, and the Astros may be accepting this harsh reality too.

"The time for this franchise to get something worked out with Tucker has long come and gone as his representation is going to advise him to get market value for what he's worth," Wakai wrote. "If Houston doesn't meet that level of compensation, then there's a good chance he'll be playing baseball elsewhere after next season."

A few days ago, I proposed a trade that would send Braves prospects Spencer Schwellenbach, Nacho Alvarez Jr. and Darius Vines to the Astros in exchange for Tucker.

But with this newly surfaced news, Tucker might have lost a little bit of his value as the Astros have lost their leverage. Atlanta may be able to offer this deal and get Tucker, potentially even controlling the negotiations.

Kyle Tucker being dealt has always seemed like a long shot, but now it seems a lot more realistic. Alex Anthopoulos is notorious for making the trade deadline deals that can win championships. He could look to make a huge deal to acquire Tucker for the Braves 2024 playoff push.