Royals front office should investigate possible trade for Astros star slugger

The 2024 Winter Meetings are officially underway and the free agency signings and major trade moves are rolling in. As rumors swirl about which star player will be finding a new team next, the Kansas City Royals are focused on finding a power bat, and a top option may have just entered the trade market.

On December 9, The Athletic's Chandler Rome reported that the Houston Astros are listening to trade offers on three-time All-Star Kyle Tucker.

"The Houston Astros are receiving trade inquiries about outfielder Kyle Tucker, multiple people familiar with the discussions told The Athletic on Monday night, potentially precipitating a bidding war for one of baseball’s best young players," Rome reported. "General manager Dana Brown did not answer directly whether he has received calls from other teams but revealed that “we’ll listen on anybody” as the club confronts a crossroads."

Going into the Winter Meetings, Royals general manager J.J. Picollo made it clear that his top priority is securing a middle-of-the-order bat to lengthen the team's lineup. With that in mind, there are very few options on the market who would be a better addition than Tucker.

The KC Royals should discuss a trade for Kyle Tucker

After a comeback season in 2024, the Royals are looking to secure an even deeper playoff berth next year — but the team needs offensive help to make that possible. Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, and Salvador Pérez carried Kansas City's offense during the regular season this year, and while that will likely continue in 2025, Picollo has recognized the need to add at least one power bat further down the order.

In 2024 with the Astros, Tucker slashed .289/.408/.585 with 23 home runs and 49 RBI in just 277 at-bats, having been limited by a three-month stint on the IL after sustaining a right shin injury. Despite his extended time out of the lineup, the 27-year-old was the Astros' Roberto Clemente Award nominee for 2024, earned his third consecutive All-Star selection, and produced consecutive four-hit games in September to become only the 14th player in franchise history to accomplish the feat.

Although Tucker did not accrue enough plate appearances this season to qualify for the batting title, his slash line and OPS+ (181) were both career-best numbers.

Tucker is going into his final year of arbitration eligibility, with Sportrac projecting he'll secure a salary of $16.7 million for the 2025 season. While that's a substantially cheaper sum than any top bat the Royals would acquire out of free agency this winter, they'd have to put together a trade package that would appeal to the Astros.

"We’re not trying to aggressively move anybody out the door, but if someone wants to talk, that’s part of being at the Winter Meetings," Brown told Rome. "Sometimes guys will think outside the box and say, ‘Hey would you guys do this guy or that guy.’ If it doesn’t make sense, we wouldn’t do it. It would really have to make sense."

For the Royals, this could involve answering some difficult decisions.

How much is the front office willing to give up to bolster their offense now? Are the Royals all-in on the team's contention opportunity in 2025, or do they think a World Series title is a season or more away?

If the Royals want to go all out to win in 2025, sacrificing a top prospect as part of a trade package could make sense. However, if Picollo believes the team's major contention opportunity won't be until 2026 or later, giving up a future star for a slugger who will only be under club control until the end of the 2025 season isn't particularly intelligent.

Still, Tucker is an undeniable talent who would add power to the Royals as they look to push for another playoff berth. At the Winter Meetings this week, Picollo should be actively investigating any reasonable way to get him to Kansas City.