MLB Insider Reveals What It Could Cost Cubs To Retain Kyle Tucker This Offseason

Given how hot he started, it didn’t seem out of the question that he could land a $500 million deal. That was the new benchmark set by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with the extension he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays. However, a brutal cold streak over the summer had people questioning his worth.

Tucker struggled mightily, eventually being revealed that he was dealing with a hairline fracture in his finger. Manager Craig Counsell decided to sit him out for a few days, giving him a chance to reset. It looks to have worked. Since getting three games off, he has produced at a torrid pace once again.

In his last 12 games played. Tucker has received 52 plate appearances. He has produced an impressive .364/.462/.727 slash line with four home runs and four doubles. The power outage that lasted from June 29 through Aug. 21, when he hit one home run and four doubles across 40 games, is no more.

How Much Will Kyle Tucker Be Paid in Free Agency?

Even including that brutal stretch, the All-Star right fielder is in the midst of what is potentially the best season of his career at the plate. The only campaign he recorded a higher OPS+ than the 148 he has in 2025 was last year. In only 78 games, he had an OPS+ of 180.

What that means is one way or another, Tucker is going to get paid this winter. Whether it be from the Cubs or another franchise, he is going to become one of the highest-paid players in MLB history, and rightfully so. Just how much money is he looking at?

MLB insider Jeff Passan of ESPN has shared his take on how things could unfold. He used Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts as a comp given how much each impacts the game across the board. The star shortstop signed a 12-year, $365 million deal that began with his age-28 campaign.

Passan believes that Tucker is going to top that, and his next contract is going to begin with a four. “So, yeah, the number is going to be big -- likely in the $400 million range,” the MLB insider wrote.

Easily the best player in the upcoming free agent class, the four-time All-Star is going to get paid. The Cubs are going to face a lot of competition to retain him, with the usual big-time free agent players likely being involved. Passan named the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants as two teams that will assuredly be in the mix.