Chicago Cubs Star the Focus Of Team’s 2025 Offseason

The Chicago Cubs finished 2025 with a record of 92-70 after back-to-back 83-79 campaigns in 2023 and 2024. There were plenty of moves made to make that happen, but none more impactful than the acquisition of Kyle Tucker. The All-Star outfielder’s arrival signaled a change in mentality for the Chicago Cubs, as Tucker was entering his last year until reaching true free agency. Now that a year has lapsed, it’s time for Tucker and the Chicago Cubs to make a decision.

The main concern for the Chicago Cubs in acquiring Tucker was not being able to re-sign him. Now that the landscape of potential contract negotiations is becoming clearer, it’s looking like the Cubs could be on the outside looking in. When it comes to the Chicago Cubs landing Tucker for the long term, conflicting reports during the season have led to plenty of speculation on both options.

The Quest To Retain Kyle Tucker

2025 was an injury-plagued season for Tucker. After getting off to a great start, Tucker suffered a hand injury in early June that marked a clear turning point in his performance. Despite being named an All-Star for the fourth time, Tucker’s output took a dip, and the 28-year-old eventually needed a brief break in the middle of the year to reset physically and mentally.

With his break in the rearview, Tucker began to make his way back to his early-season status. His contact, slugging, and on-base rates surged as the regular season entered its final month. Hope was building for Tucker and the Cubs until he left the lineup with a mild case of calf tightness that wasn’t expected to keep him out for long, but ultimately robbed him of much of the remainder of the regular season.

Without enough time to sufficiently ramp up for the postseason, Tucker couldn’t perform at his best in the playoffs. It was ultimately a down year for one of the best sluggers in baseball.

What It Could Cost

The down year for Tucker was bad news for the Chicago Cubs, as they lost in the NLDS to their division foe, the Milwaukee Brewers, in five games. The ramifications of Tucker’s 2025 season are going to extend far beyond this fall, though. Before Tucker took the field for the Chicago Cubs, estimates were that Tucker could take home a $500 million deal over 10-11 years, according to Bob Nightengale. Now that figure has come down to somewhere between $300-$400 million if Tucker opts for a longer-term deal this offseason.

David Kaplan reported that as soon as the Chicago Cubs made the move to acquire Tucker, the franchise leadership went to work on finding a way to afford a contract extension or a fresh deal for the All-Star right fielder. No extension was reached during the year, but with a lower expected price tag for Tucker, an extension could be more feasible.

On the other hand, Jesse Rogers reported that as the season wore on, it became clear that Chicago wasn’t going to be able or willing to re-sign Tucker. At this point, it is looking like the latter is more likely than the former, and Tucker will be playing elsewhere in 2026 and beyond.

Chicago Cubs’ Spending Habits

Either way, this contract situation could shine some light on the Chicago Cubs’ payroll spending commitment. The 2025 World Series features two of the top five spending teams in all of baseball. The Los Angeles Dodgers are in another stratosphere, but the Toronto Blue Jays outspent the Chicago Cubs by over $40 million in 2025, even though the Cubs earned over $200 million more in 2024 revenue.

This is part of an alarming trend for fans who expect the Chicago Cubs to commit to putting the best possible team on the field. Of all 30 MLB teams, the Chicago Cubs rank 26th in percentage of revenue devoted to payroll. If the Cubs don’t re-sign Tucker, it should be because they allocate money for other players, hopefully several bullpen arms, not because they can’t afford it. If Tucker being on the 2026 Cubs gets them closer to the World Series, there shouldn’t be anything that gets in the way of keeping him in right at Wrigley Field.