Chicago Cubs: Kyle Tucker will be gone, backup plan is not an option, per insider

The Chicago Cubs are facing a dilemma at the end of this season. Specifically, Cubs ownership is facing the dilemma.

They can open up their pocketbook and work towards re-signing multi-tool right fielder Kyle Tucker when he hits the free agent market, bidding against historically big-spending teams like the Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, and maybe the Giants. If the notoriously frugal Ricketts family does that, they will end up spending in the neighborhood of $400-$500 million.

If they remove themselves from the bidding war, they will suffer the slings and arrows of fan and media criticism as the player they acquired last offseason for three key assets walks away after just one season in Chicago.

Many feel that the Cubs are destined to lose Tucker no matter what Cubs ownership decides to do, confident that the bossmen will simply be outbid for the services of the 4-time All-Star.

The favorite to land Kyle Tucker

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported in his recent column that unnamed rival executives believe the Los Angeles Dodgers will be the team to snatch him up.

Per Nightengale:

“Despite Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker’s struggles since the All-Star break, hitting .242 with only five homers and 17 RBI, rival executives still believe he’ll be the highest-paid player in free agency. Their prediction where he’ll land? The Dodgers, who badly could use outfield help.”

That’s certainly a gut punch to Cubs fans, even if it’s not entirely unexpected.

No longer a backup option for the Chicago Cubs?

Throughout the season, talk has swirled regarding Chicago’s backup plan for when/if Tucker is lured away this offseason by bigger spenders. The main name popping up has been former Cubs World Series icon Kyle Schwarber.

The 32-year-old DH for the Phillies will also be eligible for free agency this offseason. He’s likely to command a big contract after this monstrous year (49 home runs and 119 RBIs as of this writing), but Tucker is still projected to land a substantially larger contract, with more money per season over more years.

On the surface, Schwarber to the Cubs on a 3-4 year deal for around $25-30 million per season, seems to be a no-brainer from Chicago’s side. Schwarber is still an immensely popular figure in Chicago and the Cubs will definitely be in need of an elite left-handed bat if Tucker leaves.

Nightengale, however, nixes this notion in the same column in which he broke the bad news about Tucker and the Dodgers.

Per Nightengale:

“Forget all of the talk, Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber isn’t going anywhere this winter. He loves Philadelphia, and more important, the Phillies love him. They simply will not be out-bid by any team, knowing how vital he is to them as not only their greatest power hitter, but their ultimate clubhouse leader.”

When it comes to “Schwarbs,” there’s also the fact that he appears to harbor some bad feelings when it comes to this current Cubs front office and the way they handled his final days with the organization.

Bad feelings lead to limited options

Back in December of 2020, amid budgetary concerns and a desire to restructure, new Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer opted to non-tender the slugger rather than enter into arbitration for a new contract, which likely would’ve been in the $8 million-$10 million ballpark.

“We just didn’t have any money after Covid,” Hoyer explained in January, on David Kaplan’s Cubs REKAP podcast. “I had to cut money and that was the move we had to make. I look back on that one and it just feels like we were right about the player. In the end, we were right. We ran out of time and patience and money. I feel like he should be a Cub.”

Schwarber would rebound from the disappointment and frustration, but he never quite got over it.

“For me, especially…It’s my first organization, the team that you get drafted by, you think that this is it,” Schwarber said on the Foul Territory podcast back in March. “Then you get called up within a year and we’re in 2015. Next thing you know, we’re in a National League championship series and we win the World Series. You’re expecting a lot more…

“You think that team’s gonna last forever…There’s a business side to baseball. I guess it was probably a bit more shocking going into ’21 when I was already gone. Everyone’s getting traded. You know, I think that was interesting. I felt like the nucleus was still kinda there. They still had a really good team. They still had a really good core of guys…You know, that’s the business side of the game.”

So, the question for the Cubs will be– If not Tucker and Schwarber, then who? As of right now, the plan seems to be rookie Owen Caissie and a lot of wishful thinking.

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