It has been an amazing start to the season for the Chicago Cubs, who continue to appear to be the team to beat in the National League Central.
After a couple of years of playing well, the Cubs have taken it to the next level this campaign.
This winter, Chicago was extremely aggressive on the trade market trying to improve this team with a clear window of opportunity to compete. Due to the team having a plethora of young talent, they felt like the time to strike was now.
With the best record in the division and arguably the best offense in baseball, that decision appeared to be the right one. However, the cost to acquire one of their new stars was steep, and could perhaps end up being far too costly.
Without a doubt the decision to trade for Tucker this past winter has made Chicago a better team as of now. The talented slugger is having a great campaign and is in the early running for the NL MVP.
However, when looking at the cost to acquire him, it appears to have been steep for a player that is a free agent at the end of the season.
In exchange for Tucker, the Cubs sent Isaac Paredes, Cam Smith and Hayden Wesneski to the Astros. While Wesneski unfortunately just had to undergo Tommy John surgery, both Smith and Paredes have been contributors for Houston this season.
While Paredes was an All-Star in 2024 and was expected to be the featured piece in the trade, Smith was a bit of a wild card as a talented prospect. After lighting it up in spring training, the Astros wanted to get Smith on the Opening Day roster, and he made the switch to play right field.
With the Cubs essentially trading three starters for Tucker, due to the quick emergence of Smith, this deal might be a bit lopsided.
Now, while winning this year is a possibility for Chicago, they also could lose the star slugger in free agency.
Not winning a World Series and losing their star outfielder after giving up so much to get him would be a crushing blow, but it is a realistic possibility. Hopefully, the Cubs can get an extension done with their star, or this could end up becoming a bad deal for the team in the long-term.
