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Kyle Tucker Sends Clear Message to Cubs After Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Deal

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jon Conahan | Last updated Apr 10, 2025 2:30 PM ET

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has set the market for Kyle Tucker, who could be looking at a more lucrative contract than the Toronto Blue Jay slugger received.

The Chicago Cubs must be ready to give it up; otherwise, trading what they did to the Houston Astros won't make much sense.

Jed Hoyer is under more pressure than any front office member in MLB. If the Cubs don't make the playoffs this season, or even compete, there's a good scenario that he'll be fired before the year ends.

If he could sign a Tucker to a long-term extension over the next few months, that would be an impressive addition to his short resume.

Perhaps his resume isn't his fault, as the Cubs haven’t exactly been big spenders, but there's been much more that he's needed to do in recent years.

However, after Tucker's recent comments about Guerrero's extension, there doesn't sound like there's much hope of completing a deal.

"I'm sure he loves playing in Toronto," Tucker said before Monday's game against Texas, according to FOX. "It's great for him. I mean, everyone's a little different. Right now, I'm here to play this year. I'm excited to get out again and play tonight, just kind of see where everything goes after that."

With Guerrero taking the extension now, the price for the Cubs likely has only gone up.

Tucker understands he'll be the best player on the market next winter, and signing an extension wouldn’t make much sense.

If he's smart, he could return to the Cubs, but his plan should be to allow teams to get into a bidding war.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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