Jed Hoyer avoids further Cubs offseason embarrassment with Kyle Tucker

After two straight seasons of finishing just outside the Wild Card picture, Jed Hoyer finally made his move. The Chicago Cubs traded for Kyle Tucker, shedding multiple valuable assets to acquire the Houston Astros' top bat.

Tucker arrives in the prime of his career at 27 years old. He's a three-time All-Star, a Gold Glove outfielder, and a former World Series champ. Even when limited to 78 games last season due to injury, Tucker whacked 23 homers and drove in 49 runs. It's simple math to extrapolate that to a full season.

Just a couple years removed from a top-five MVP finish in 2023, Tucker is on the shortlist of the best positional weapons in baseball. The Cubs finally have a proper slugger in the middle of the lineup. With the Brewers continuing to bleed talent due to financial limitations and the Reds still a few pieces away, the door is wide open for Chicago in the NL Central. Tucker might kick it down.

There is, of course, a catch. There's always a catch, especially when Jed Hoyer is involved. Tucker is entering the final year of his contract, which means he could bolt as a free agent in 2026. The Cubs surely envision Tucker spending the rest of his prime on the Northside, but Tucker is due for a bag. Is Hoyer willing to drop it?

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Cubs take small step toward long-term partnership with Kyle Tucker

Panic set in almost immediately when Tucker and the Cubs were unable to agree to terms on his 2025 salary. Tucker initially filed at $17.5 million, while Chicago filed at $15 million. They were trending toward an arbitration hearing over $2.5 million, which felt like an impossibly cheap and shortsighted decision from the Cubs' front office.

Well, crisis averted. The two sides recovened and hammered out a deal outside of arbitration, per ESPN's Jesse Rogers. Tucker will be on the books for $16.5 million next season before hitting free agency.

This is a more than generous concession from Tucker, who is obviously worth much more than $16.5 million in a vacuum. Chicago gets away with its cheapness and avoids the crisis of a potentially ugly arbitration battle. We still can't feel great about the Cubs' chances of keeping Tucker in a competitive free agent market, but this is an important step in that direction. Ending up almost immediately at odds with Tucker would have been the death knell.

With his contract settled, Tucker will be at Chicago's fan convention this weekend. The vibes should be high with the Cubs in such a strong position. After a rocky first season under Craig Counsell, there's reason to believe Tucker's arrival can take Chicago to the next level. The only question is: how long with this match made in heaven last? The Cubs are a marquee franchise in a huge market, but they seldom spend like it. Tucker's next contract could land somewhere north of $400 million, which is in line with the increasingly substantial sums being handed out to stars these days.

We shall see how it all plays out, but settling outside of arbitration does leave the Cubs in a better position than they were in a few days ago.