Someone Has to Say It: A Few Reasons Why Kyle Tucker Could Be Coming Back to the North Side

I suppose someone here has to be the voice of optimism…so I actually think Tom Ricketts makes an exception for Tucker. Here’s a few reasons why.

1. The video of him seeming to show regret for not getting Bryce Harper is kinda encouraging. That’s because he admitted outrightly that he regrets not pursuing a superstar/big name player like Bryce Harper. Albert Einstein is attributed with the quote of “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Hopefully, Tom won’t do the same thing twice.    
2. Supposing Tucker has a massive year, making the difference between the Cubs making the playoffs and not and leading the Cubs on a good playoff run. Now imagine the delta in ticket sales, merchandise sales, and Marquee TV subscriptions with Tucker versus without over the foreseeable future. It’s going to be overwhelmingly more revenue coming in with a top 10 player in baseball on your team.
3. Obviously Tucker makes the Cubs a better ballclub. We all know that. Plain and simple. He also could be the reason why the Cubs make the playoffs this year like I said above. Last year Kyle Tucker had a 4.7 bWAR (Baseball Reference WAR) in just 78 games. In the two years prior, he had a 5.5 bWAr both years. This year, he already has a 1.2 fWAR (FanGraphs WAR). Let’s say he has a 5 WAR season. That’s 5 more wins for the Cubs. That could make the difference in making or missing the playoffs this season.
4. From what we’ve heard is that he (so far) likes Chi city. I did an article on this, but they’re have been some positive comments about Chicago coming out of Tucker’s mouth so far. That needs to happen. He has to like Chicago, the Cubs, their staff, their fans, the hotels, the food, and even the bus drives, and airplane rides. From what I’ve heard he does. He just said yesterday that “…it’s been great ever since I’ve been over here. Everyone’s been super nice and helpful and everything. The hospitality’s been great and obviously, you guys can walk around this facility, it’s really nice…” Here’s hoping Kyle likes it on the North Side.
5. There’s one last reason. It ties back to the Vladimir Gurrerero Jr. extension. It’s all the pressure that they are (or should) be feeling to extend Tuck. With Vlady off the market Kyle Tucker is clearly going to be the biggest free agent next season. If he goes out onto the open market, it’s going to be the Dodgers, Phillies, Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, and Blue Jays all in on Tucker, which is not good news for the Cubs. But right now they are the only team that can talk to him, and they need the pressure to fuel this deal. 

At the end of the day, the 2025 season has just started. We should enjoy King Tuck, while we can. So let’s not worry about it until the extension season comes. Someone has to say why they might extend him though, so I will.