The Chicago Cubs made a significant move in the MLB trade market on Friday by signing three-time All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker in a blockbuster deal with the Houston Astros.

While Tucker, who turned 28 in January, has been one of baseball’s best hitters in the 2020s, he’s not exactly a household name outside of baseball fans either, as he’s made a name for himself as an effective member of a devastating Houston lineup Astros made, which included a World Series title in 2022.

A native of Tampa, Florida, Tucker was drafted fifth overall by the Astros out of high school in the 2015 MLB Draft and made his MLB debut in July 2018 in a game against the Chicago White Sox.

Although Tucker was not listed on the club’s 2018 postseason roster, he made the 2019 postseason roster after limited time with the big league club in the regular season, playing in five of the seven games in that year’s World Series .

Tucker has since played in two more Fall Classics, winning the championship over the Philadelphia Phillies in 2022.

The pandemic-shortened 2020 season was Tucker’s first season as a full-time player. He missed only two of his team’s 60 games while leading all of baseball in triples with six games.

Tucker had a particularly productive season in the 2020 postseason, where his club nearly erased a 3-0 deficit against the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Championship Series.

In 13 playoff games this year, Tucker went 15 of 49 with one home run and six runs batted in, while also scoring four runs.

In 2021, the outfielder had another breakthrough, finishing 20th in AL MVP voting while also setting career highs in nearly every statistical category, including 30 home runs and 14 stolen bases.

Tucker followed that up with another outstanding postseason run in a World Series for the Astros, hitting four home runs and four doubles as well as five stolen bases and 15 RBI in 16 playoff games.

Further improvement was expected in 2022, with Tucker once again hitting 30 home runs and setting career highs with 107 RBI and 25 stolen bases. He was named to his first All-Star team, finished 15th in AL MVP voting and also received a Gold Glove for his work in right field.

Although Tucker wasn’t quite as productive in the 2022 postseason, he still hit three home runs and a double en route to a World Series championship, defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.

The following season marked Tucker’s strongest season to date, scoring 97 runs, 37 doubles, an AL-leading 112 RBI and a career-high 30 stolen bases en route to a fifth MVP berth, second consecutive All-Star selection and his first career Silver Slugger.

However, Tucker struggled mightily in the 2023 postseason, going just 6 for 40 with three doubles in the playoffs, where the Astros lost to the rival Texas Rangers in a seven-game ALCS.

Despite a shin injury that limited his 2024 season to just 78 games, Tucker posted outstanding offensive numbers, posting a .993 OPS and 181 OPS+ with 23 home runs, 11 stolen bases and 13 doubles in just 277 at-bats.

The numbers were good enough to warrant Tucker’s third straight All-Star selection, a streak he hopes to continue in his first year as a Cub.