The Chicago Cubs took a bit of a risk, parting with three valuable assets in order to acquire Kyle Tucker in an offseason trade with the Houston Astros. The trade was risky given Tucker's pending free agency status, but the player the Cubs were getting was a surefire superstar - or so we thought. Tucker began his Cubs career by performing like a legitimate NL MVP candidate, but since the start of July, he's been a shell of himself. It's gotten so bad to the point where he's missed each of the last three Cubs games after Craig Counsell elected to give him a mental reset. As it turns out, Tucker has been playing injured for quite a while, based on what ESPN's Jesse Rogers reported and later Counsell confirmed.
In Rogers' latest for ESPN, he reported that Tucker suffered a hairline fracture in his right hand while sliding into second base in a game on June 1. Tucker still put together a monstrous month of June, but he really started to struggle in July. Yet, despite clearly being compromised, he refused to go onto the injured list.
While frustrating to only find out more than two months after it happened, Cubs fans at least now know why things have gone so poorly for the outfielder.
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Cubs fans got the Kyle Tucker explanation they've been looking for
Players of Tucker's caliber don't simply forget how to hit. Tucker had a .931 OPS through June, and again, was in the NL MVP race. Since the start of July, though, he's slashed .189/.325/.235 with one home run and 10 RBI. His OPS has dropped by nearly 400 points and his power is almost gone. Rogers noted in his piece that Tucker has a 54 percent ground ball rate since the start of July, an absurdly high figure for a player like Tucker.
Something had to have been bothering him for his production to tank this much seemingly out of nowhere, and Cubs fans now have their answer. Counsell says it's healed, so hopefully, results start to come once he's activated off the IL. Considering the fact that clear swing changes were made to help take pressure off the injured hand, though, it might be a bit before we see the Tucker of old.
Cubs fans hope their actions didn't cost Chicago a long-term deal with Kyle Tucker
The fact that it's now revealed that Tucker was playing through a hairline fracture for over two months without anyone knowing about it should have Cubs fans feeling rather guilty about booing him on more than one occasion. Sure, Tucker could've hustled more, but frustration had set in at that point. Cubs fans had no idea what Tucker was dealing with, and sure enough, it was a major injury.
Did the boos change Tucker's perception of the Cubs organization or fan base? I have no idea, but Cubs fans can only hope not. This is a true five-tool superstar we're talking about here that Cubs fans might've run out of town by booing without the full story. Tucker should be praised for battling his way through a fracture, and whenever he returns to the lineup, he should be greeted like the warrior he is.
Kyle Tucker's injury confirms what we already knew about his upcoming free agency
Speaking of Tucker's free agency, he was expected to get paid very handsomely, and that will still be the case. While he won't be getting Juan Soto money, he'll get the most money of any upcoming free agent by a healthy margin, and could easily approach $400 or even $500 million if a bidding war commences. He's that gifted of a player.
Tucker is who he was pre injury - a game-changer who had the Cubs sitting pretty at the top of the NL Central for the entire first half. A flukey injury that's clearly impacted his production shouldn't and won't impact his free agency. He's established who he is as a player, and the Cubs will have to pony up to keep him in town.