Carlos Correa Comments on Struggling Astros Rookie From Kyle Tucker Trade

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Josh Valdez | Last updated Aug 25, 2025 4:49 PM ET

The Houston Astros have been a centerpiece of high-profile MLB moves over the last year. Future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander and club legend Alex Bregman each departed in free agency, and they traded star outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs for Isaac Paredes, Hayden Wesneski, and outfield prospect Cam Smith in December.

The Astros then re-acquired star infielder Carlos Correa from the Minnesota Twins at the Trade Deadline, who was on their 2017 championship team with Bregman and Verlander. The 30-year-old has been Smith's teammate for less than a month, but he already has nice things to say about him.

Correa commented on the rookie's demeanor amid his current slump, via The Athletic's Chandler Rome.

“He’s handled it better than anybody would handle it,” he said.

Smith is slashing just 145/.203/.182 in August and hasn't homered since June 28. The 22-year-old also hasn't had a three-hit game since June 8 and has just two extra-base hits in August.

Failure is testing Astros rookie Cam Smith, and ‘he’s handled it better than anybody’ - https://t.co/IKnIRTI231
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) August 25, 2025

Smith made Houston's Opening Day roster after just one year in Chicago's farm system. The 2024 No. 14 overall draft pick slashed .313/.396/.609 with seven homers and 24 RBI in 32 minor-league games last season.

Smith showed promise in May and June, slashing .307/.388/.400 and .303/.354/.494, respectively. However, the Florida native has struggled since, which isn't ideal for an Astros team that's just two games ahead of the Seattle Mariners for first place in the AL West.

Who Won the Kyle Tucker trade?

While it's not possible to determine the long-term winner of the blockbuster deal less than a year later, it has had pros and cons for each team thus far.

Unfortunately for Houston, two of the three players it got in the trade are on the 60-day IL. Paredes (hamstring) hasn't played since July 19, while Wesneski's (elbow) season ended in May. The latter player went 1-3 with a 4.50 ERA over six starts.

However, Paredes was on pace for one of his best seasons before going down. The 26-year-old slashed .259/.359/.470 with 19 homers and 59 RBI over 94 games.

Meanwhile, Tucker is slashing .262/.375/.464 with 21 homers and 69 RBI over 125 games for the Cubs. However, the 6-foot-4-inch, 212-pounder is in a similar predicament as Smith. He's slashing just .186/.278/.329 in August after slashing .218/.380/.295 in July, which is detrimental to a Chicago team that's five behind the Milwaukee Brewers atop the NL Central.

Going by WAR (Wins Above Replacement), the Cubs have the slight advantage in the deal thus far. Tucker has a 4.6 WAR, while the other three players have a combined 4.0 WAR for the Astros. However, both Smith and Tucker must improve down the stretch for either team to reach the mountaintop.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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