"They look at Kyle Tucker like 80-90% Juan Soto... costs 60%" - MLB insider rules out Houston Astros signing soon-to-be free agent Yankees superstar

The Houston Astros are unlikely to be contenders for Juan Soto in free agency, ESPN analyst Jeff Passan believes. That's because of Kyle Tucker.

On Sports NET's Blair and Barker podcast, Passan was quizzed about whether Juan Soto's free agency will remain a straight fight between the two New York clubs - the Yankees and Mets, who are considered frontrunners for Soto. Some of the smaller market alternatives posed were the likes of the Washington Nationals, Seattle Mariners, and the Houston Astros.

But Passan dismissed the thought of the Astros signing Soto simply because they have to make room for Kyle Tucker, who is entering free agency at the end of the 2025 season. As per the ESPN analyst, Tucker is almost as good a player as Soto and is also projected to cost much less. (Start at 1:09:18)

"I can't see Houston with especially Kyle Tucker. I think they look at [him] as a homegrown 80-90% of the player Soto is probably going to cost 60% of what Soto is going to, so that the value there makes sense to them," Passan said.

Kyle Tucker nearing return for Astros after major IL stint

Kyle Tucker was forced to the injured list 60 games into the season after fouling off a ball against his shin in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 3. The 27-year-old has seen considerable progress in his recovery as he had a live bullpen session, where he also homered twice.

As per the youngster, if all things go fine, then he may skip a Triple-A rehab assignment and directly join the Astros for their six-day home stand starting on Sept. 6.

Before being shelved, Tucker was having another strong season with 19 home runs and an OPS of .979 with 40 RBIs and 42 runs scored. He was almost single-handedly keeping the Astros, who had a disastrous start to the season, afloat. Now in playoff contention, Houston will want their main man to get back in the same form ahead of October.