The last few days have felt a little different for fans of the Houston Astros, particularly fans who have latched on full force since the first World Series title season in 2017. In seasons past, the Astros have allowed big name free agents to play out their final season as an Astros and then walk in free agency. Gerrit Cole, George Springer, Carlos Correa and Justin Verlander are all names that fit that bill.
Allowing good players to leave for greener (as in “more green money”) pastures with no compensation in return is something that great teams with deep farm systems can do. The Astros were, not all that long ago, a great team with a deep farm system. They are neither of those things now, and thus, they are conducting business like a team that is straddling the fence of rebuilding and attempting to contend for a title.
Which brings us to the Kyle Tucker trade from last Friday, in which the Astros sent the All Star outfielder to the Chicago Clubs in exchange for two big league players with several years of team control left (iB/3B Isaac Paredes and SP Hayden Wesneski) and a high level minor league prospect (3B Cam Smith). One sure, “one year” thing in exchange for several years of control over some big time variables — this is a move that rebuilding teams make.
Combine this with the likely departure of third baseman Alex Bregman, not to mention Justin Verlander (again), and big part of the soul of this Astros era walks out the door this offseason. The Astros themselves are holding out hope of convincing Bregman to stay on a six year deal. (Bregman reportedly wants more than that.)
Either way, at a minimum, Tucker is now gone, so it begs the question — where does Tucker stack up in the pantheon of Astro Golden Era players in terms of how much he embodies this age of Astros baseball? Hell, what does the pantheon itself even look like?
I’m going to answer this question by stacking the quintessential Astros from 2017 through present in a pyramid style format, with Tier 1 being the very top of the pyramid. Here we go:
TIER 1 – Jose Altuve
The undeniable face of this era of Astros baseball, and a future Hall of Famer, who has arguably already cemented his spot as the greatest player in franchise history. That he was willing to take the abuse from the sign stealing scandal, alongside his teammates, when he never utilized the sign stealing scheme only solidifies his legacy more.
TIER 2 – Alex Bregman, George Springer
Other than Altuve, Bregma is the last standing PRODUCTIVE member of the 2017 Astros title team — sorry, Verlander and McCullers. Bregman began his career as the cocky soul of the team, and evolved into a mature leader and mentor for everyone at any position. Springer was the World Series MVP in 2017, and the first free agent to leave where it felt like part of the heart of the team had been ripped out.
TIER 3 – Carlos Correa, Justin Verlander, Yuli Gurriel
Correa gets grouped with Altuve, Bregman, and Springer as sort of the “big four” of the early title Astros, and that is accurate. However, the relationship between the fans and Correa was more complex than those of the three guys listed above. The 2019 season where Correa broke a rib in a massage (supposedly) soured fans for a while. Verlander augmented the star power and became the best starting pitcher in franchise history, as he ether won a Cy Young (twice) or finished runner-up (once) in each of his three FULL seasons. Gurriel was a folk hero with Gold Glove defensive skills and a batting title in 2021.
TIER 4 – Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Lance McCullers, Jeremy Pena
This is the tier where I put Tucker, who blossomed from overwhelmed youngster in 2018 and 2019 to a perennial All Star by 2021. Yordan Alvarez is perhaps the best pure hitter in franchise history, and hit some mammoth home runs during the 2022 World Series run, including the game winner in the clinching Game 6 of the World Series. People are sour on McCuller because of all his injuries, but he was huge in the 2017 postseason, pitched with a torn UCL in 2018, and was the team’s best pitcher in the 2020 COVID season. Jeremy Pena makes Tier 4 solely on the strength of his ALCS and World Series MVP Awards in 2022.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
