The Chicago Cubs picked up a true franchise player when they traded for the Houston Astros’ Kyle Tucker in December.
Arguments could be made that the 28-year-old is among the five best players in baseball and it’s pretty much accepted fact that he’s definitely among the top 10. In a lot of ways, Tucker is the kind of player the Cubs had hoped for back in their World Series days, from guys like Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, etc. He is a consistent, steadily-outstanding and productive all-star-level player who could be a linchpin to a winning franchise for a decade or more.
The Chicago Cubs’ Bittersweet Acquisition
The bittersweet part of the Cubs acquisition of Tucker (for third baseman Isaac Paredes, pitcher Hayden Wesneski, and third base prospect Cam Smith) is that most everyone is taking for granted that the famously frugal Chicago front office won’t extend Tucker beyond 2025 and that the multi-tool star will be moving on to a big market team that spends like a big market team.
But could Cubs ownership do the unexpected and re-sign their prized new outfielder on a multi, multi-year deal?
Hope Of Extending Kyle Tucker?
Al Yellon of SB Nation believes that’s a distinct possibility.
Yellon, who sees Kyle Tucker slashing .290/.400/.500 with 35 home runs, predicts that Cubs will sign him to an 8-year, $340 million deal and make him the focal point of a resurgent franchise with a winner’s vibe.
Per Yellon:
“Obviously, that’s nearly double the number of dollars in the Cubs’ largest-ever free-agent deal ($184 million to Jason Heyward), but Tucker’s 7 bWAR season will convince Tom Ricketts that he’s worth keeping around.
Tucker will also sell tons of jerseys and shirseys with his name on them, thus further proving to management that signing him will make them more money.”
That’s a bold position to take when it comes to a team that has been burnt by a couple of mega-deals and seems averse to big-money, long-term investments.
Tucker Is Special
But Tucker is a special kind of player and both the fans and the ownership will see that as he does his thing over the course of the season. He is steady and strong, doing everything well. He brings a winning attitude with him and plenty of post-season experience. He’s also been amazingly consistent in his excellence, averaging around 30 home runs a year from 2021 to 2023 and on pace to hit more than 30 in a 2024 where he was missed part of the campaign due to injury.
Wrigley will absolutely adore him and his “talk soft and carry a big stick” approach to the game and, as Yellon mentioned, Tucker merchandise will fly off the shelf. A true all-star great impact player should also help subscriptions to the Cubs’ Marquee Network, which, by some accounts, has not been doing as well as expected.
But will Tom Ricketts the Ricketts family see this and be motivated to open their checkbook wider than it’s ever been opened before?
That’s the big question.
It will be tempting for ownership to save those hundreds of millions of dollars and hope for a new crop of potential impact players– Matt Shaw, Owen Caissie, James Triantos, Moises Ballesteros– to emerge from the farm system and win for pennies on the Tucker dollar.
But that’s a big gamble.
If the Chicago Cubs are truly serious about being a winning franchise in the style of the Astros or Dodgers, they need to spend like those teams. And a guy like Kyle Tucker is the wisest kind of purchase.
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