Chicago Cubs: Is a flat-lining Kyle Tucker playing hurt, weakening Cubs offense?

The Chicago Cubs lost a tough one Monday night, coming up short in a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the division rival Cincinnati Reds. With the loss, they now fall to three games behind the first place Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.

There were plenty of lowlights on Monday, like trade deadline acquisition Michael Soroka leaving the game with an apparent shoulder injury after just two innings and Dansby Swanson missing first base on a potentially game tying ground ball that had initially been ruled a base hit, but later overturned via replay.

The one continued lowlight, extending well before Monday’s game, however, is the sluggish offense.

Once regarded as an elite powerhouse offense, Cubs hitters have struggled for quite a while now. Against the Reds, for instance, the no. 2 through no. 5 hitters in the lineup were a feeble 1-for-14.

Kyle Tucker’s offensive slump

Chief among the Cubs’ offensive doldrums has been the disappearance of Kyle Tucker, who was once the linchpin for a stellar and versatile run scoring machine in Chicago.

Of late, the four-time All-Star has been almost non-existent when it comes to power and overall production. In the month of July, Tucker hit .218 with just 4 extra-base hits (3 doubles and 1 home run). So far this month, he’s hitting .214 with zero extra-base hits.

So, what happened?

Is Tucker playing hurt?

The widespread rumor is that the multi-tool right fielder is playing hurt, dealing with an injury that has hampered his ability to hit for power.

That rumor was lent credence on the Cubs’ very own broadcast this past Saturday, when play-by-play man Jon “Boog” Sciambi went public with a revelation that has flown somewhat under the radar. Credit to Matt Cozzi and Sam Olbur of the Locked on Cubs podcast for isolating this piece of audio and sharing it with viewers.

Per Sciambi:

“He’s been in a funk, there’s no question about it. You look at Tucker over the course of the last 24 games and he’s hitting just .210 and over that stretch he has only four extra base hits…

There is an aspect of that stretch that we really haven’t talked about, and that is, to rewind…if you remember back in early June, June 1 to be exact, he was sliding into second base and his right hand curled underneath him, he injured his right index finger…it forced him to come out of that game and then miss a game. And the hand hasn’t really been right since then. So, you’re talking about two months of him playing through it and the power has suffered.

Look, he’s got some quirks to him. He’s a guy that grabs the bat really hard…it’s not softly nestled in his fingers. He squeezes the bat. And that right index finger, the gas pedal as Dustin Kelly calls it, it’s been hard for him.”

Chicago Cubs need to be on top of the situation

If this is true, then it begs the question of why in the world is Tucker still playing at diminished capacity in what has become a tight pennant race with very little margin for error.

A 10-day stint on the IL could’ve prevented more than a month of lackluster performances, dragging down a lineup that had become, to a certain extent, Tucker-dependent.

As a matter of fact, a 10-day IL rest would still be a wise move to make if he’s dealing with a power-hampering injury. If the Cubs act now, they could get him back, healthy and rested, for the crucial 5-game Brewers series that starts August 18. Bringing up Owen Caissie from Iowa as a temporary replacement would be palatable in the short term. At this point, a 100% Caissie might not be too far below a limited Tucker.

Whatever the case, the Cubs need Kyle Tucker to be Kyle Tucker or a deep playoff run becomes even harder to envision.

Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-kyle-tucker-injury-hurt?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicago-cubs-kyle-tucker-injury-hurt