This past offseason, the Chicago Cubs made a deal with the Houston Astros to acquire outfielder Kyle Tucker, who is set to become a free agent at the end of the 2025 season. Chicago quickly made clear that it didn’t want this to be merely a one-year rental, but whether Tucker would be open to signing a long-term extension was an open question.

With the impressive start Tucker is off to this season, it feels like he is forcing the Cubs front office to meet his asking price. With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. agreeing to a massive extension with the Toronto Blue Jays, Tucker will be pretty clearly the best bat on the free-agent market next winter, giving him all the leverage in the world in negotiations with Chicago.

And yet, despite that leverage — and despite Tucker clearly being critical to the Cubs’ success this season and beyond — Chicago GM Carter Hawkins is still waffling publicly about whether it would be wise to hand the outfielder the bag.

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Cubs still playing coy about Kyle Tucker extension

Entering Friday, the Cubs are sitting at 9-6 and in first place in the NL Central. Kyle Tucker has been a big reason for that early success, hitting an impressive .322 with five homers and 16 RBI. He’s also shown discipline at the plate, drawing 14 walks while anchoring the middle of Chicago’s lineup. It seems like a no-brainer to extend Tucker at basically whatever price he wants, but Carter Hawkins seems more concerned about financial efficiency.

Jordan Sigler of Chicity Sports shared Hawkins’ comments regarding the possibility of offering Tucker a contract extension.

“You’re trying to understand, there are certain positions, certain players that are overvalued or undervalued, and allocate your dollars appropriately within those contexts, but it’s hard to judge markets,” Hawkins told 670 The Score‘s “Mully & Hugh Show” on Thursday. “And we’re just trying to make sure that when we’re spending money, that that money is going towards wins, and that money is going towards wins in an efficient fashion.”

This thought process would seem to imply that Hawkins and Cubs brass believe Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s new $500 million extension isn’t good business, and that Chicago isn’t thrilled about spending that sort of money on any one player. This will undoubtedly have Cubs fans on edge, considering the fact that Tucker has obviously earned a big contract and will get it from someone else in free agency. If he is helping you win, pay the man. Financial efficiency should not be a top priority if being competitive is an option.