Chicago Cubs: Kyle Tucker’s immediate future still in doubt

He was back in Chicago on Tuesday to confer with the Cubs and work on some sort of time frame regarding his condition and his ability to rejoin the team. He had already begun running and was put through some agility tests prior to Tuesday’s game against the New York Mets.

“There’s probably a few more boxes that I got to check off before everyone’s comfortable with me going out there,” Tucker told media. “Myself, the coaching staff, training staff and everyone, we just got to work through that the next couple days and try to get back out there as soon as possible.”

“We’ve made progress, for sure,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters on Tuesday. “We’re just going to treat this day to day as much as we can, and just try to keep having good days. There’s time urgency here — there’s no question about it. But, we just want to keep having good days.”

The Chicago Cubs need an answer

With just five games to go before the end of the season and then one day off before the start of the Wild Card series, time is definitely of the essence. The Cubs would also like to get Tucker back in time to get some regular-season at-bats before the playoffs start.

Tucker seems cautiously optimistic about the likelihood of coming back before the end of the season.

“We’ll talk about it on a day-to-day basis and try to get in there at some point this series or next series before the playoffs start,” Tucker said. “We’ve got to take it day by day in those conversations.”

Tucker’s importance

Tucker, who many feel will be lost via free agency at the end of this season, played a significant part in motoring an elite Cubs offense over the first several months of the season. An extended career-worst slump in August-September, plus this latest injury, have gone hand-in-hand with the team’s recent offensive decline.

Whether the following days or weeks are his final as a Cub, the team would still benefit greatly in the here and now from his healthy, productive return.