Cubs could sign 49 home run slugger if Kyle Tucker departs, per insider originally appeared on The Sporting News

If the Chicago Cubs lose Kyle Tucker, there’s a strong argument to be made that they need to go out and replace his bat with a left-handed hitter.

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Of course, the Cubs could look at some of their young prospects as potential avenues to replace Tucker, but the reality of the situation is that no prospect in the Cubs system, barring something drastic changing, will be anything as close to Tucker.

Not many hitters on the free agency market will be, either, outside of Kyle Schwarber. There’s an argument to be made that Schwarber has been one of the top five hitters in Major League Baseball this season, if not better than Tucker.

Cubs eye potential Kyle Tucker replacement

And according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Cubs will be one of the teams interested in him.

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He didn’t specify whether the Cubs would only be interested in him if Tucker walks, but it’s positive to hear that Chicago will have some level of interest in the All-Star.

“The Phillies want to keep their MVP candidate. Phillies, Cubs, Red Sox,” Heyman wrote.

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Tucker will be more expensive than Schwarber, whether it’s due to the number of years he lands or AAV. However, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN, Schwarber will still be looking at a $30 million per year contract.

“Because of all he brings, Schwarber is going to get paid. Like, paid paid. Teams will scoff because of the age, the strikeouts, the positional inflexibility. But Schwarber’s total package will ultimately push some of them off such concerns and trigger a bidding war. If he wants, he can get at least four years. The salary, at that term, should be at least $30 million a year,” Passan wrote.