Chicago Cubs fleeced in Kyle Tucker trade? Wesneski’s emergence says “yes”

When the Chicago Cubs pulled the trigger on the trade with the Houston Astros to bring Kyle Tucker home, there weren’t too many fans crying over the cost.

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To get one year of the All-Star right fielder, the Cubs gave up 2024 no. 1 draft pick Cam Smith, third baseman Isaac Paredes, and pitcher Hayden Wesneski. Paredes was a good, solid every day player and Smith had a tremendous upside. The righty Wesneski, meanwhile, had top-shelf potential, but had failed to put it all together and was looking increasingly lost in the effort to do so.

Since coming from the New York Yankees in the 2022 Scott Effross trade, the Cubs seemed at a loss when it came to getting the talented young pitcher to the next level.

Of the three players dealt to the Astros, Wesneski was the least lamented by the Cubs faithful. And when he underwent Tommy John surgery in May of 2025, he pretty much became the forgotten man in the Tucker trade.

Well, he’s definitely forced his way into being not forgotten now.

Hayden Wesneski is forgotten no more

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Since coming back from his surgery in late July of this season, the 28-year-old has posted a 3.18 ERA over 7 games and 39.2 innings pitched. In his last start against the Chicago White Sox, Wesneski threw 7 shutout, one-hit innings in the Astros’ 2-0 win.

Overall, he’s looked like a top-tier starting pitcher since coming back—something the Cubs could most definitely use, especially heading into a 2027 with so much insecurity swirling around the rotation.

Jordan Campbell of Cubbies Crib recently touched on Wesneski and his progress:

“Through his first seven starts with the Astros this season, Wesneski has an ERA of 3.18. What makes it more impressive is how Weneski is finding success this season. With the Cubs, home runs were his fatal flaw. So far with the Astros this season, he’s kept the ball in the bark. Through nearly 40 innings pitched this season, Wesneski has only given up two home runs.

There’s no telling if the Cubs would have been unable to unlock this version of Wesneski, it’s become clear their pitching infrastructure doesn’t always value how other teams find success. But, the larger point is that the Cubs paid a steep price to have Tucker for one season. It was obvious at the time, but as the debate over how won the trade rages on, it’s starting to look like the Astros are the victor and it may not be close.”

A big-trade fail?

Tucker definitely had value for the Cubs last season, despite an ugly second-half slump. It could be argued that Tucker’s first-half prominence helped motor the team into a position where they were a lock to make the postseason.

But, realistically, he was going to be a Cubs one-and-done as his free agent contract demands were going to be too steep for Chicago’s spending preferences.

It’s hard to go back and label a trade a failure when it probably helped you get into the playoffs. But it sure would be nice to have Cam Smith back as a right field option and a healthy, fully-actualized Wesneski earning recognition as a quality starting pitcher.

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