It’s hard to project just what Chicago Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker is worth on the open market.
Tucker’s age (28) and status as a four-time All-Star make him the prize of this year’s class. But he’s also been hampered by injuries in each of the last two seasons, and a 1 1/2-month slump this summer caused his season numbers to land in a place that doesn’t necessarily suggest he should be paid like one of the top few stars in the sport.
We’ve seen a number of free agents coming off strange seasons, especially those like Tucker who were slapped with the qualifying offer, wind up accepting short-term deals to rebuild their value. But one insider is quite confident that won’t be the case for the Cubs star.
ESPN reporter Jeff Passan dropped a series of free agency updates on Sunday on Threads, and for Tucker, he labeled four teams as fairly definitive suitors. More importantly, the insider signaled that the absolute floor for Tucker’s market was $300 million, and that the actual number very well could wind up blowing that floor out of the water.
“The market for the best free agent in the class could stretch into the new year potentially,” Passan wrote. “At the end of the day, nobody can make a team better like Tucker, and whether it’s Toronto, Philadelphia, either New York team or perhaps one that misses out on the rest of the top players in the class, Tucker’s price will be met, and he’ll get a 10-year-plus deal for more than $300 million – with an even higher ceiling possible.”
In 136 games for the Cubs, Tucker slashed .266/.377/.464, clubbed 22 home runs, drove in 73 RBIs, and racked up 4.6 wins above replacement. His career OPS+ now sits at 140, and he averages 5.8 WAR per 162 games.
Passan is also just the latest prognosticator to seemingly remove the Cubs from the discussion, as it appears the Cubs, who have never spent more than $184 million on a single free agent (Jason Heyward) will only get involved if Tucker’s market falls far below the insider’s stated expectations.
The winter meetings begin next week, so it will be interesting to see whether there’s any movement on Tucker, or if Passan’s notion that things could drag into the new year bears out.
