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MLB Insider Reveals Major Cubs' Kyle Tucker Update Amid Upcoming Free Agency

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jon Conahan | Last updated Jun 11, 2025 6:30 PM ET

From top to bottom, the Chicago Cubs have played very well this season. There's a reason why they've been one of the better teams in Major League Baseball, but it also falls on some of their top players.

Kyle Tucker, in particular, has continued to prove why he's arguably one of the best five to 10 players in MLB. At worst, Tucker is a top-10 hitter in the sport, and that has continued to prove true throughout his time in Chicago.

But there's a massive question mark at the end of that, as the Cubs will have to pay him a lucrative contract if they want to keep him around.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, however, that's precisely what has to happen, stating that the Cubs are only as good as they currently are because of players like Tucker.

If they want to be the team they're looking to be over the next decade, it'll have to be with the Florida native on the roster.

“Kyle Tucker has been transformative for this team,” he said. “Patrick Mooney wrote a good story about this in The Athletic over the weekend. There’s an aura to this guy. He is one of the top players in the game, and without him, the Cubs weren’t what they are now, even with PCA (Pete Cross-Armstrong), in your imagination, playing the same way last year without Kyle Tucker.

"Kyle Tucker has made a huge difference, and that’s gonna be an ownership call whether they resign him. So, if they don’t (Jed), Hoyer’s gonna have to put this together again. Granted, PCA Pete Crow-Armstrong has emerged as an MVP candidate. They are getting some excellent work out of their other offensive players as well. But the future of this team beyond this season depends upon, in my opinion, whether they have Tucker or a player like him. If they don’t, they are sort of back to square one.”

Everything Rosenthal said here makes perfect sense. The Cubs have been very good, but there's also no secret to why.

Before they acquired Tucker, with him protecting hitters, they were a much different team.

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

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