The Chicago Cubs took a big bet this past winter and it is paying off. The team has surged to 25 wins and a first-place standing in the National League Central division after the first chunk of the season. And while the Cubs can point to the ascendance of Pete Crow-Armstrong and surprise impact from Carson Kelly as big reasons why, their best player has been Kyle Tucker. The Cubs’ front office opted to trade away outfielder Cody Bellinger to the New York Yankees and bring in Tucker via trade from the Houston Astros, despite the fact Tucker will have the chance to leave in free agency after this season. Tucker has rewarded that decision by surging to 10 homers and 10 stolen bases, becoming one of the few players in the majors to reach those marks by this point in the season. Fans are surely hoping Tucker’s tenure with the team will last well beyond his debut season and the success he’s enjoying so far seems to suggest it
will. In a recent update for MLB Network, Major League Baseball insider Jon Heyman revealed he had interviewed Tucker this past weekend and provided an update on the star’s outlook on an extension with the Cubs. “He didn’t want to talk about any potential (contract) talks, I understand that, but he did say he’s really enjoying himself as a Cub,” Heyman said. “No surprise there, so I do think he will listen (to an extension offer). I do think the expectation is they will come to him this summer and try to figure it out.” Tucker is set to be the most coveted player of the free agent class at the end of the season if he becomes available, so it’s no small thing for him to acknowledge he’d be willing to skip that process if the Cubs decide to offer an extension. The price tag might have to reach the $500 million mark, but Tucker’s perceived openness is a good update. “They really want to keep him,” Heyman added. “This is a guy who I think will consider it if they make him the right offer.” Now it seems the ball is in the Cubs’ court and, no matter the price, fans are surely hoping they can keep Tucker from ever becoming a free agent.
Kyle Tucker slump coming at the worst possible time for Cubs…
Just a couple of weeks ago, we were talking about how Kyle Tucker could be using the enormous Vladimir Guerrero Jr. contract extension as leverage to receive a massive deal of his own from the Chicago Cubs. But Tucker has recently started to show his human side, and as a result, his club suddenly finds itself in an NL Central dogfight with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Tucker’s slump has come at the worst possible time, as St. Louis Cardinals have won 10 of their last 11 games and now sit just one game behind the Cubs in the division standings. Chicago has been carried by its offense thus far, and it will need Tucker to turn things around soon if it wants to keep the good vibes going for the rest of the summer and get back to the postseason for the first time since 2020.
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Kyle Tucker’s red-hot bat has gone ice cold for Chicago
Within the first two weeks of the season, it seemed very apparent that the Cubs won their blockbuster trade with the Houston Astros. By no means should the Cubs be regretting that deal now because of Tucker’s recent slump, but it has shown that he is human, and they cannot expect him to stay on his historic pace for a full 162 games.
This recent stretch has also shown how valuable Tucker is to the Cubs. Chicago is 4-6 in their last 10 games and over that stretch, Tucker is just 7-for-37 (.189). After showing immense power at the start of the year, Tucker has just one long ball over that span and just three runs batted in.
If there is one positive for the Cubs to focus on during Tucker’s first slump with the club, it is that he is still being selective at the plate and is displaying a high level of pitch recognition; he’s taken six walks over his last 10 games and has only struck out five times during that span.
