{"id":250249,"date":"2025-09-24T00:27:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T00:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/250249\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T00:27:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T00:27:11","slug":"the-kyle-tucker-guessing-game-continues-for-chicago-cubs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/250249\/","title":{"rendered":"The Kyle Tucker guessing game continues for Chicago Cubs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kyle Tucker\u2019s first season in Chicago has been a whirlwind from the time he was acquired in December<\/a> to his latest stint on the injured list.<\/p>\n

For much of the year, Cubs fans demanded Chairman Tom Ricketts sign the outfielder to a long-term extension before free agency, and Tucker\u2019s presence helped the offense look dominant for most of the first half.<\/p>\n

But Tucker then went into a summer swoon that coincided with the team\u2019s fall from first-place to wild-card contender, and wound up on the IL for the last three weeks in September,\u00a0adding to the anxiety level at Wrigley Field.<\/p>\n

The Cubs began their final homestand of the regular season Tuesday night against the New York Mets, with Green Day throwing out the first pitch as their song, \u201cBasket Case,\u201d played \u2014 an appropriate reference to Cubs fans\u2019 current frame of mind.<\/p>\n

The big question Tuesday was whether Tucker would be able to recover from his lingering calf strain and get enough at-bats in the final week of the regular season to be ready for the postseason.<\/p>\n

Tucker returned from a brief trip to Tampa, where he rehabbed with his own physical therapists, and declared Tuesday he\u2019d be fine without much ramp-up to the postseason.<\/p>\n

\"ChicagoChicago Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker, center, watches the game from the dugout on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025, at Wrigley Field. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019ll be alright,\u201d he said in the Cubs dugout before the game. \u201cEven when you are playing every single day, you never know if you\u2019re going to have a good day or a bad day. You go out there expecting to get a hit every single time you go up to the plate, but it\u2019s not always going to be like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the most part I think it\u2019s a mental thing. If I can be physically locked in and get comfortable and get at least a few at-bats in there I\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cross your fingers, Cubs fans, and keep the Advil near the TV.<\/p>\n

Manager Craig Counsell confirmed there is some \u201ctime urgency\u201d with Tucker, but didn\u2019t care to speculate on whether the All-Star outfielder could just step in and be ready in the postseason if he wasn\u2019t able to return this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a decision that is down the road that we\u2019d have to make,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cI haven\u2019t really thought about that decision yet. I\u2019m still hopeful we can get him in there (this week).\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no question the Cubs need Tucker\u2019s bat in the lineup in October, even if he\u2019s had an up-and-down season. He played in 15 playoff series over six seasons with the Houston Astros, and the Cubs have few players with postseason experience.<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s been on the IL since Sept. 6, and hasn\u2019t played since leaving a game on Sept. 2,<\/a> the night he hit his first home run since July 19 in a 4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves. Earlier this season, he suffered a hairline fracture of a finger on his right hand while sliding into second base on June 1, but it was not diagnosed immediately and he managed to play through it, suffering a power outage in July and August.<\/p>\n

Was it the injury, or adjusting to the injury? No one could know for sure. But the slump was so pronounced that it convinced fans Tucker was all but gone after the season and the Cubs would turn to prospect Owen Caissie in 2026.<\/p>\n

\"ChicagoChicago Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker makes a catch against the Baltimore Orioles in the second inning Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025, at Wrigley Field. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

This latest calf injury wasn\u2019t supposed to be as serious as it has turned out to be. But the fact that he still couldn\u2019t run two weeks into it made the Cubs try something different \u2014 letting Tucker leave the team to go rehab with a physical therapy crew he felt comfortable with.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the stuff we were doing here was good,\u201d Tucker said of the Cubs\u2019 treatment. But it wasn\u2019t enough for his own peace of mind. His rehab people had helped him recover from a shin injury last year with Houston.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been with those guys the last decade or so, working out in the offseason,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ve known me for an extended time \u2026 and can see some subtle things or differences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tucker has been able to run the last two days for the first time, and on Tuesday ran the bases a little. But he still was unable to return, and wasn\u2019t sure when he\u2019d be good to go.<\/p>\n

Counsell said Tucker was running well, but added: \u201cI don\u2019t think you\u2019re ever going to see full speed, like beating out a ground ball.\u201d He confirmed that Tucker would start out as the designated hitter when he returns instead of playing in right field, which likely means Seiya Suzuki would mostly start in right.<\/p>\n

By leaving the team in Pittsburgh, Tucker missed the wild-card clincher, the postgame celebration and the group photo afterward. But he had no qualms about missing out.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s exciting, but at the same time, I also do my best as a player to try to be back on the field,\u201d he said. \u201cHopefully we have a lot more of these kinds of celebrations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Counsell said closer Daniel Palencia would likely be activated by Wednesday, which could help the bullpen situation if he\u2019s back to his old self. Palencia struggled before going down with a shoulder strain on Sept. 8, and Counsell has adjusted by using Andrew Kittredge and Brad Keller in closing situations.<\/p>\n

But Tucker\u2019s health will be the story to watch in the final week and into the postseason. He basically replaced Cody Bellinger, who was dealt to the New York Yankees in a salary dump and has had another stellar season.<\/p>\n

Tucker can still finish his season on an up note with a strong postseason, which could convince Ricketts to bring out the ceremonial wheelbarrow of cash and give him a long-term megadeal.<\/p>\n

But in reality, the better Tucker does in the postseason, the more likely it is he\u2019ll get the deal he seeks from a team that doesn\u2019t worry about the payroll as long as the team wins.<\/p>\n

So what will it be? Who knows?<\/p>\n

As Green Day once sang, wake me up when September ends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kyle Tucker\u2019s first season in Chicago has been a whirlwind from the time he was acquired in December…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":250250,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,1271,1816,65954,5386,1818,76040,5605,1822,116047,1305,1273,132595,1272],"class_list":{"0":"post-250249","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-chicago","9":"tag-chicago-cubs","10":"tag-craig-counsell","11":"tag-green-day","12":"tag-il","13":"tag-illinois","14":"tag-injured-list","15":"tag-kyle-tucker","16":"tag-mlb-baseball","17":"tag-mlb-postseason","18":"tag-new-york-mets","19":"tag-tom-ricketts","20":"tag-wild-card-series","21":"tag-wrigley-field"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115256442611188261","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}