Sure sounds like Astros apocalypse is happening with latest Kyle Tucker buzz

The Houston Astros are coming off of their first premature postseason exit in a while. We are used to penciling Houston into the ALCS every season. Now, after getting swept out of the Wild Card round by a threadbare Detroit Tigers team, there is deep introspection happening in the Astros front office.

Something has to change for Houston. The roster, as built, is quite good, but it's not necessarily good enough. Alex Bregman, Justin Verlander, and others are hitting free agency, which puts immense pressure on GM Dana Brown. There is an expectation that he will deliver a winner, but Houston can't settle for another fringe postseason berth. The Astros need to focus on building sustainably in pursuit of a World Series.

That could lead Houston to drastic action. The Astros' roster is getting increasingly old. Their 30th-ranked farm system promises very little, meaning Houston can either age out of contention or — and this'd be a tricky needle to thread — Houston can trade part of its core to restock the minor-league pipeline and build a bridge to the future.

According to Chandler Rome of The Athletic, Brown and the Astros are earnestly considering a trade of either Kyle Tucker or Framber Valdez. The latter would be shocking enough, but trading Tucker — your 27-year-old superstar on the heels of a .993 OPS, 23-home run campaign — would break the league. That just doesn't happen very often, especially with financially motivated and established contenders, such as the Astros.

In fact, Rome takes it a step further and outright predicts that Tucker will begin the 2025 campaign in a different uniform.

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Astros edging closer to shocking Kyle Tucker trade and retool

The goal of trading Tucker would be simple — to add prospects to a barren pipeline and help Houston build toward something, rather than dreading what might happen when this core ages out.

Whether or not the Astros should trade Tucker, who feels like a once-in-a-generation talent, is up for debate. Houston might be better off flipping Valdez or other established stars, as Tucker is primed for a long and fruitful career out in right field. But, Tucker would certainly bring back a monster haul, and his contract is expiring at season's end. There is no guarantee that Houston can actually keep him in free agency, no matter how hard Dana Brown tries.

We can't ignore the Juan Soto effect here. The 26-year-old just received $765 million, which resets the market for young, up-and-coming superstars. Tucker won't get that much, but $500 million? $600 million? It's not as crazy as it sounds at this point. The Astros can skip out on that, um, excessive investment and flood the farm system with a trade. It's not entirely unappealing.

There is the whole matter of building a winner, though. Let's assume for a moment that Houston manages to re-sign Bregman. Is the core of Bregman, Jose Altuve, and Yordan Alvarez enough to keep Houston in the postseason fray? Yeah, of course. Is it enough to reach the mountaintop without Tucker's dynamic skill set and explosive bat? That is less clear.

Houston needs to think long and hard before trading Tucker. It will ultimately come down to how strong the offers are. We saw the Washington Nationals essentially rebuild their entire core with the Juan Soto trade. If Houston can pull off a remotely comparable heist with Tucker, there could be some long-term benefits, despite how destructive and apocalyptic it might feel in the moment.