Kyle Tucker’s tenure with the Chicago Cubs has been trademarked by question marks.
After the massive trade that brought him to Chicago from the Houston Astros, Tucker put up a very productive season on the whole, making his fourth All-Star team and helping the Cubs to their first playoff appearance in five years. At the same time, he endured a major second-half slump and a calf strain that held him out of action for most of September.
All the while, there was never any reported progress on a potential extension for Tucker to remain with the Cubs past his scheduled free agency this winter, which made sense, because he’s long been the man with the highest projected contract value of anyone in the class.
So now that the Cubs have been bounced from the playoffs, all eyes will be on Tucker’s next steps. And following the team’s loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday, the 28-year-old had strikingly little to say that would classify as a hint about his desires.
“We’ll see what happens,” Tucker told reporters, per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. “I don’t know what the future’s going to hold. But if not, it was an honor playing with all these guys. And I wish everyone the best of luck, whether it’s playing (together) next year or not. It’s a really fun group to be a part of.”
While Tucker certainly was complimentary of his teammates and the Cubs organization, he gave no real indication that staying in Chicago was pulling at his heartstrings which isn’t shocking, given that he still hasn’t been there for a full calendar year yet.
Tucker finished the season with a .266/.377/.464 slash line, 22 home runs, 73 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases in 136 games. He went 7-for-27 (.259) with a home run, five walks, and five runs scored in the Cubs’ eight postseason games this year.
All told, it was a good-not-great year for Tucker, and the pressure now shifts to the Cubs to see how badly they want to broker a reunion.
One would think the Cubs still view Tucker as the same missing piece he was to them a year ago. But it’s an entirely different commitment to give someone hundreds of millions of dollars, and if Chicago is on the fence at all about handing out the contract Tucker wants, there’s likely to be at least one other team waiting in the wings to make that offer.
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