The Chicago Cubs head into the offseason with one very big question looming that everyone wants to know the answer to before free agency officially begins.

After trading legitimate capital to acquire star outfielder Kyle Tucker last offseason, Tucker hits the open market following just one season with the team. It was a roller coaster year for the five-tool player, and after a blazing start, fans were begging for him to be re-signed.

As things went on down the stretch, though, and Tucker became a victim both of inconsistency and injury, the chances of Chicago being the team to extend him a long-term deal felt less likely, and less of a desire from the fanbase.

Despite the way things ended, he is still projected to receive a massive contract, and one to which interested teams should give pause.

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In his recent article detailing every big name free agent, naming which teams could be interested and what the potential deal could be, former MLB general manager Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required) projected Tucker to receive a 10-year deal worth $427 million.

“Teams view him as a complete player who will be a threat to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases every season,” Bowden wrote. “Tucker won’t turn 30 until 2027, and his young age relative to the rest of this class makes him even more inviting to both clubs for the long-term as they could backload the contract to fit their budgets better with expiring contracts down the road.”

It should be noted that in his list of projected suitors, Bowden mentioned the usual suspects in the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies ,and San Francisco Giants, but not the Cubs.

For Chicago at that price, that’s exactly how it should be.

Cubs Must Not Offer Megadeal to Tucker

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Tucker’s age and production warrant handing him a contract that spans a decade, but at over $42 million per season, Bowden’s prediction just does not make sense for Chicago. Things may be different if Tucker loved the city and franchise so much so than he wanted to take a deal for around $300 million or less, but it would be tough for the Cubs to justify the projection.

For one, they have an assembly line of young prospects who are ready to step in as major contributors as soon as they are asked next season, and investing so heavily in Tucker would block more than one of them.

Make no mistake, the 28-year-old is a great player, but this kind of splash would also likely be the biggest move of the winter, and Chicago has proven to be much more in need of help in the pitching staff rather than the lineup.

The Cubs need to go with internal improvements for the offense and take the big swing on landing a legitimate ace. Otherwise, they will be doomed to suffer the same fate next season that they did this year.

A $427 million contract for Tucker is just not in the organization’s best interest as much as they may want to keep him. If that is indeed the number it goes to, look for Chicago not even to make a real offer.

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