Kyle Tucker’s hot start over the first couple weeks of the Chicago Cubs’ season was not all that surprising.
Tucker, who averaged 5.2 bWAR from 2021-24, arrived over the winter in a trade with the Houston Astros and was hyped as the kind of slugger the Cubs’ lineup had lacked since Kris Bryant’s falloff began in 2020.
But there was a point late in spring training this year where Tucker’s lack of offense, combined with the ascension in Astros camp of third baseman Cam Smith — the Cubs prospect who was a key part of the Tucker deal — caused some excessive hair-pulling and fingernail-biting in the stands and executive suites at Sloan Park.
Tucker hit .100 (3-for-30) with one home run in Cactus League play, a forgettable spring for anyone, much less the alleged savior of the Cubs. Would Jed Hoyer’s boldest move as Cubs president backfire?
“It’s interesting because every year I say to myself in spring training ‘I’m not going to focus on the results, I’m not going to look (at stats),’” Hoyer said of Tucker. “The guy gets like one hit in his first 30 at-bats, and everyone starts asking about it.
“I kept trying to think of (Dansby Swanson’s) first spring, and Kyle’s was amazing compared to Dansby’s. It’s another good reminder that with veteran guys like that, the track record usually pays off.”
Tucker quickly rebounded once the bell rang, winning his first National League Player of the Week award on Monday. He entered Wednesday’s 6-2 loss to the Texas Rangers leading the majors in extra-base hits (11), while ranking second in RBI (16) and walks (13).
The Cubs finished their opening homestand Wednesday 4-2 after the offense went belly up in the loss to the Rangers, but they’ve won 9 of 13 games since starting out the season 0-2 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Tokyo. Considering the tough schedule and unusual amount of early season travel, that’s about as much as manager Craig Counsell could ask for 15 games into the season.
Not only has Tucker helped fuel an offense that’s outperformed expectations early on, but he’s also given the Cubs a true superstar the team can market in 2025 and perhaps beyond.
“I don’t think of it from a marketing standpoint, but I look at it from a winning standpoint,” Hoyer said. “We’ve talked about this a lot the last couple years. You want to be solid throughout, but you have to add a lot of three-win players together to get to a guy that has a chance to get much higher than that.
“To me, I focus on it from a baseball standpoint, and it makes a big difference, that consolidation of wins from one person.”
It’s too early, of course, to make any judgements on the ’25 Cubs. You may recall that last year they started 17-9, only to go into a two-month offensive funk that left them nine games under .500 and 13 games out of first by July 3, effectively ending their postseason dreams. April turned out to be a mirage.
The Cubs rebounded to finish 83-79, but still reduced payroll in a crucial offseason for Hoyer. He managed to get one year of Tucker for $16.5 million after avoiding arbitration, a bargain in this day and age. But Hoyer didn’t spend much otherwise to help fill holes and ease pressure in the final year of his contract, thanks in part to budgetary constraints from ownership.
Whether Tucker stays or goes is going to be a media narrative all season long, and he’s wisely told reporters he’s “just here to play baseball,” sidestepping the question that will only get louder if his numbers go up and the Cubs contend all season. Vlad Guerrero Jr.’s 14-year, $500 million extension with the Toronto Blue Jays was a good barometer of how much Tucker could command once he’s a free agent, though his deal figures to be shorter since he’ll be 29 next year.
That’s Chairman Tom Ricketts’ problem.
For now, Ricketts just has to hope Tucker can help the team win and draw fans in what could be a difficult summer for baseball owners, thanks to possible belt-tightening measures by consumers due to the stock market roller coaster caused by President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Those $15 beers at the ballpark add up, and some fans might just buy a 12-pack and watch the games on TV. The Cubs sold enough tickets during the opening homestand, but thousands of seats were unoccupied during the Rangers series.
The Cubs, who own their TV network in Marquee Sports, assuredly will be selling Tucker as a “must see” player this season, even as he’s so low-key he tends to blend into the background in a clubhouse that was mellow to begin with.
Tucker can’t sell himself by talking, so he’ll just have to do it with his bat.
Even if he continues to rake, the Cubs still have bullpen issues that need to be sorted out, and Justin Steele’s injured list stint with elbow tendinitis should test their rotation depth. It’s not a team that can just roll out of bed and win games, but one that needs to play well defensively and take advantage of its base-running skills to win on days where the offense doesn’t kick in.
The cautious optimism on the North Side has only increased after lackluster starts by the rest of the National League Central teams. The St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday had the worst pitching in the majors (5.89 ERA), while the Milwaukee Brewers ranked 29th (5.51) and the Pittsburgh Pirates weren’t far behind at 27th (4.90). The Cincinnati Reds have pitching, but no offense, ranking 26th in OPS (.608).
The Cubs are easily the most well-rounded team, warts and all. If they can survive a grueling April schedule that continues Friday against Los Angeles in Dodger Stadium, they should be able to keep the rest of their division foes at arm’s length the rest of the way.
Then we’ll find out whether Ricketts’ “anything can happen in the playoffs” mantra comes to fruition.
Tucker might not be Shohei Ohtani, but he has already proven he can be the straw that stirs the drink.
And that could be the difference between last year’s strong start and this one.
