It doesn’t matter if the American League Rookie of the Year award is Luis Gil plus one or three candidates. The New York Yankees need to trade right fielder Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros and wash away their Juan Soto blues.

Those blues are real, even if some Yankees people secretly claim to be relieved that Soto didn’t accept the team’s 16-year, $760 million offer and opted to go for $5 million more guaranteed (and one year less) to go to the New York Mets. instead. Offer $760 million for a player and you want him. But the argument that the Yankees can build a World Series contender without Soto? They certainly can. And Tucker, a left-handed hitter who won a Gold Glove in right field and stole 30 bases in a season, fits the bill perfectly.

Of course, the same goes for Tucker with the Chicago Cubs or another club, assuming Astros owner Jim Crane is willing to trade him, which is no guarantee. Imagine if the Cubs included infielder Isaac Paredes in a deal for Tucker and then signed another star from the Astros, free agent Alex Bregman, to play third base. That’s the kind of plan the Cubs would actually pursue if owner Tom Ricketts ran the team as a big-market behemoth rather than an efficient Midwest bank.

For the Yankees, a deal for the 27-year-old Tucker would be a repeat of last offseason’s deal for Soto, who was also a year removed from free agency. That deal cost the Yankees a pitcher who finished seventh in the National League Cy Young race: Michael King; a pitching prospect who led the San Diego Padres’ trade for Dylan Cease, Drew Thorpe; a catcher who hit 17 home runs, Kyle Higashioka; and two other pitchers who combined to give the Padres 141 2/3 innings, Randy Vásquez and Jhony Brito.

With Juan Soto now a Met, the Yankees need to bolster their offense. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)

The package for Tucker wouldn’t be that big, but it would hurt. Tucker is perhaps the game’s most underrated superstar, ranking third among outfielders in fWAR since becoming a full-time player in 2020, behind only Aaron Judge and Soto. The Yankees certainly don’t want to make another promising trade after they’ve done it so many times in recent years. They would certainly prefer to keep Gil, who the Astros also value for his elite arm, despite his command issues. But what choice do the Yankees really have?

Judge and Carlos Rodón are 32. Gerrit Cole is 34, Giancarlo Stanton is 35. The competition window with this group will not remain open indefinitely. With Judge nearing the end of his prime, the Yankees desperately need to try to win their first World Series since 2009. And as club officials consider various ways to improve, Tucker could be a linchpin of their post-Soto efforts , even if he only stays one year.

Without Soto, the only left-handed hitters expected to play regularly for the Yankees are catcher Austin Wells, infielder/outfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. and switch-hitting outfielder Jason Domínguez. Most of the top remaining free-agent hitters — Bregman, Christian Walker, Pete Alonso, Teoscar Hernández — are right-handed (Anthony Santander is a switch-hitter). The Cubs’ Cody Bellinger is a left-handed trade possibility, but he’s not at Tucker’s level offensively.

The signing of free-agent left-hander Max Fried to an eight-year, $218 million contract gave the Yankees seven potential starters – Cole, Fried, Rodón and Gil, as well as Clarke Schmidt, Nestor Cortes Jr. and Marcus Stroman. Without Soto, better run prevention will be necessary. Gil could play a crucial role in this equation. But if the Yankees move him, they will be in strength at a time when they are trying to address numerous needs.

Right-hander Clay Holmes also joined the Mets as a free agent, resulting in a gap in late-inning relief. First base is a priority, and if the Yankees add Tucker, they could be going for the best all-around player, even if he’s right-handed. Walker, who will play next season at age 34, is a consistent hitter, an accomplished baserunner and winner of three straight Gold Gloves. By signing him, the Yankees were able to keep Chisholm at third and put the rest of their resources into their bullpen. They have already re-signed free agent right-back Jonathan Loáisiga.

Tucker is something of an uncomfortable superstar, relatively quiet and unassuming, almost the opposite of Soto, a showman who reveled in the love he received at Yankee Stadium (a different kind of reception awaits Soto when he and the Mets in May visit the Yankees). . While Tucker has shown more of his personality in recent years, particularly in the Astros’ clubhouse, he is from Tampa and New York may not be his idea of ​​a long-term home.

Therefore, just like with Soto, an extension with the Yankees would be highly unlikely. Soto seemed like a chance to become a free agent from the moment the Yankees acquired him. He had already rejected a 15-year, $440 million offer from the Washington Nationals in 2022. And his agent, Scott Boras, generally prefers his clients to establish their values ​​on the open market.

Tucker’s agency Excel negotiated extensions for Paul Goldschmidt and Pablo López shortly after they joined new teams, as well as Freddie Freeman and Clayton Kershaw early in their careers. While Tucker probably wouldn’t be affected by the pressure of playing for the Yankees, he would almost certainly want to spend a full season in New York before deciding whether to stay.

The possibility of another one-and-done would be real. The acquisition costs for Tucker would be enormous. But the player, my goodness. Tucker averaged 30 homers and 149 games in 2021-23 before a broken tibia limited him to 78 games last season. He still hit 23 home runs and posted an OPS of .993. Playing at Yankee Stadium and aiming for the short porch in right field, 40 home runs would be within reach.

Losing Soto freed the Yankees to explore alternative plans in free agency and trade. Whatever the team decides, the pieces won’t fit the same in 2025 as they did in 2024. However, Tucker gives the club the best chance of solving the puzzle. Trade for Tucker, sort out the rest, and wash away the Soto blues.

(Top photo by Kyle Tucker: Tim Warner / Getty Images)