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Cubs Weighing Slugger's Future As Big Price Tag And Free Agency Loom

Originally posted on Chicago Cubs on SI
By Maddy Dickens | Last updated Aug 1, 2025 4:30 PM ET

Kyle Tucker just joined the Chicago Cubs this season on a $16.5 million dollar deal after spending the entirety of his major league career with the Houston Astros (member of the 2022 world series team).

The Astros anticipated that his contract negotiations going into free agency (which will be at the end of this season) were going to be too great so they dealt him away. This could ultimately be the same problem that the Cubs are going to run into.

So far Tucker has been worth the price that the Cubs have paid for him this season, but he could ultimately be looking at a super-max contract that is well into the $100 millions.

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Kyle Tucker's season

This season their outfielder has an OPS of .879 slashing .276/.391/.488 with 18 home runs, 61 RBI, and 74 drawn walks.

Tucker is a slugging machine and there will be teams who will no doubt pay for him, with a career slugging percentage of .512 in eight seasons, but Chicago just might not be one of them.

Especially with how one of their top prospects has performed in the last two years. Owen Caissie, who would definitely be on a major league roster by now had it not been for Tucker, is ready to make his debut.

Caissie (another outfielder) has been with Triple-A Iowa the past two seasons. He is posting career highs since being drafted back in 2020.

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This season he has posted a slash mark of .280/.378/.563 bringing his OPS well over .900 at .941 and has hit 20 home run balls, 47 RBI, and has 48 walks drawn.

Tucker is having a good season, but the Cubs are stacked with sluggers including Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki, and Michael Busch, who all have over 20 home runs on the season.

There are many major hitting categories that Tucker sits in the top-four in, but the only ones he leads are on-base percentage and walks.

Clearly he is a great player and has earned a max deal, but Chicago might not be willing to swing what he is going to want and who knows if they will be able to make a deal.

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This article first appeared on Chicago Cubs on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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