Chicago Cubs: Kyle Tucker opens up about slump, addresses injury rumors

The Chicago Cubs offense has been in an extended slump– and the end results are painfully apparent.

Now four games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central Division, the Cubs have gone from a 6.5 game cushion in first place to a sizable multiple-game deficit in second place.

A big part of the team’s fall from grace centers around their once potent, versatile offense and its recent lack of output.

Tony Andracki of Marquee Sports Network crunched the numbers and spotlights how far from elite the Cubs’ offense has been. Over the last month, Chicago ranks the following in these key offensive categories:

24th – runs/game (4.00)
19th – home runs (28)
21st – batting average (.238)
21st – slugging percentage (.393)
22nd – OPS (.696)

Kyle Tucker’s role in the Chicago Cubs offense drought

Many attribute the team’s downward-bound offensive trajectory to Kyle Tucker’s sudden hitting drought.

From July 1st to August 7, the four-time All-Star right fielder is hitting a meager .208 with just 1 home run and 9 RBIs.

Needless to say, this lack of output is disastrous for a team that counted on Tucker as a linchpin for their offense.

Rumors have abounded regarding a lingering finger injury from a June 1 slide mishap that might be contributing to his slump.

Tucker speaks

Tucker, however, is either downplaying or denying the injury talk, depending on how one interprets his recent comments.

“I mean, it’s fine,” Tucker told reporters. “I gotta do my job regardless of how I feel. I’ll just continue that the best I can.”

Tucker did, however, somewhat offer an explanation for his troubles.

“I normally hit the ball in the air a lot, and I hit it pretty hard when I do,” Tucker said. “Obviously haven’t been doing that a lot. I have a handful of extra-base hits the last month-and-a-half or whatever. Some of those at-bats, I’ve hit some hard singles just right at the center fielder, right at the right fielder. Didn’t get in the gap or down the line.

“If I was chasing balls in the dirt or above my head all the time, then it’s a different story. It’s just a matter of making solid contact forward. That’s kind of where I’m at. At times, you’re going to foul off pitches or swing through pitches you think you should hit. That’s kind of where it’s been. I need to figure out how to put those in play and hit them harder.”

Differing thoughts on the cause of Tucker’s slump

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, though, doesn’t discount the possibility of the finger injury playing a role in Tucker’s sudden inability to hit for power.

“I don’t know how much is pain, discomfort, how much is bad habits you got into to compensate for something, and just how much is a slump,” Hoyer told The Athletic. “There’s no question it’s had some impact on him.”

Cubs manager Craig Counsell is optimistic that whatever’s causing Tucker’s issues is only a temporary thing, part of the natural ebbs and flows of baseball.

“There’s a lot of good things happening there, it’s just he’s missing some pitches he feels like he should hit,” Counsell told media. “That’s hitting sometimes. You miss a pitch you should hit, a pitcher makes a good pitch and you’re walking back to the dugout. That’s the fine line of hitting in the big leagues.”

Tucker, himself, is in line with his manager’s assessment.

“That’s how baseball goes sometimes,” Tucker said. “Just try to ride the wave as best you can and try to turn it around as fast as possible.”

“As fast as possible” needs to happen soon, as the Cubs are headed into a crucial stretch of games which include 5 with the division-leading Brewers.