Chicago Cubs: Kyle Tucker named one of the biggest free agent busts of 2026 so far

The Chicago Cubs made a big free agent signing this off-season, inking third baseman Alex Bregman to a five-year $175 million contract. Of course, this signing was made because Chicago missed out on re-signing outfielder Kyle Tucker, who was lured to the Los Angeles Dodgers by a four-year $240 million contract.

So far this year, Bregman has been off to a slow start, but has also been an important veteran leader. When the Cubs got off to a slow start, the long-time veteran helped keep the club grounded and has been a key voice in their recent surge to the top of the National League Central Division.

Tucker, meanwhile, has been incredibly disappointing for the Dodgers.

Former Chicago Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker named one of MLB’s biggest busts of 2026

To be fair, no one was very surprised to see the Dodgers throw $60 million a year at one of MLB’s biggest free agents this past off-season. However, many questioned whether or not Tucker was worth that much.

According to Bleacher Report, he has not lived up to the contract and has been deemed one of baseball’s biggest busts so far this year:

“So far with the Dodgers, though, he has been a replacement-level player.

“The biggest issue has been breaking balls.

“The ones that he does hit, he typically hits hard. In fact, his average exit velocity against breaking balls (90.5 MPH) is the highest it has been since 2019. But he is just 4-for-23 with 11 strikeouts, with sliders, in particular, causing major issues—1-for-12 with seven Ks.

“We are, of course, talking about a minuscule sample size. And entering this season, Tucker was 89-for-399 (.223) with 27 home runs and a 26 percent strikeout rate against sliders. He could hammer one tomorrow and instantly change the narrative.

“All the same, it’s an early hole in his swing that has kept him from even remotely living up to that massive contract.”

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