Yankees should be salivating after Jed Hoyer’s latest baffling blunder

The Chicago Cubs quietly pulled off the second-biggest addition of the MLB offseason, trading for Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker. A World Series champ and three-time All-Star at 27 years old, Tucker is on the shortlist of baseball's most dominant position players.

Tucker managed 23 home runs and 49 RBI in just 78 games last season, slashing .289/.409/.585 despite the oppressive impact of injuries. He was the centerpiece of Houston's battle-tested core, but the final year of his contract has brought on tremendous uncertainty. Tucker could get a payday north of $500 million next winter. The Cubs took advantage of Houston's queasiness.

On the surface, this is exactly what Cubs fans wanted — an ambitious move to meaningfully raise Chicago's ceiling in a winnable NL Central. That said, this could end up being another classic misfire from Jed Hoyer, whose short-term appetite may have overruled his long-term vision.

The Cubs have Kyle Tucker, but it cost several valuable assets to get him. Isaac Paredes was never the best fit in Chicago, but he's a 25-year-old All-Star, not somebody you throw into trades willy-nilly. Now, Hoyer and the front office need to worry about keeping Tucker beyond 2025. That is not going well at the moment.

You can be sure the New York Yankees are paying special attention to Tucker's precarious situation in the Windy City.

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Kyle Tucker, Cubs already at odds as free agency — and Yankees — loom large

Chicago and Kyle Tucker are already far apart in contract negotiations — and we aren't even to the point of trying to hammer out a long-term extension. The Cubs and Tucker reportedly could not settle his 2025 salary out of arbitration, with Chicago filing at $15 million and Tucker's reps filing at $17.5 million.

Honestly... what on earth is Jed Hoyer thinking? We know players can hold grudges when it comes to arbitration hearings. Chicago is basically telling their prized offseason acquisition he's not worth an extra $2.5 million when he could be raking in north of $40 million annually before long. The Cubs are not acting like a serious organization. How can you expense the necessary assets to trade for a star of Tucker's caliber, and then get stingy in the arbitration room? There is legitimately no excuse.

Meanwhile, the Yankees are lurking. Their post-Juan Soto plans don't necessarily end this offseason. Whether it's Tucker or fellow 2025 free agent Vladimir Guerrero Jr., you can bet the Yankees are eyeing the next crop of available superstars. Tucker is an especially clean fit as he can slot into Soto's now-vacant outfield position. Perhaps he'd line up next to another former Cub, Cody Bellinger.

New York tends to spend aggressively when there's a clear path to contention. The Cubs... not so much. Chicago has plenty of organizational cachet and history to leverage in free agent negotiations, not to mention an acclaimed manager in Craig Counsell. None of that matters, though, if the front office gets cheap at every possible turn. It's hard to fathom the logic behind not bending to Tucker's demands in 2025 if the Cubs have any plans to try and keep him around beyond this season.

Every GM with cash to burn got a pep in their step when the Tucker-Cubs arbitration news dropped. It's comically bad optics for Hoyer, Cubs ownership, and the entire organization.