{"id":73643,"date":"2025-08-05T00:35:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T00:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=73643"},"modified":"2025-08-05T00:35:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T00:35:11","slug":"column-all-eyes-on-kyle-tucker-and-michael-soroka-as-chicago-cubs-open-home-series-vs-cincinnati-reds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=73643","title":{"rendered":"Column: All eyes on Kyle Tucker and Michael Soroka as Chicago Cubs open home series vs. Cincinnati Reds"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Chicago Cubs acquired Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros in December as the missing superstar in the lineup, and his strong start helped fuel expectations that a return to the World Series wasn\u2019t just a pipe dream.<\/p>\n

The Cubs acquired\u00a0Michael Soroka from the Washington Nationals last week at the trade deadline to help fill a void in the rotation and eventually contribute out of the bullpen.<\/p>\n

As they begin a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night at Wrigley Field, Tucker and Soroka will share the spotlight.<\/p>\n

Tucker\u2019s recent struggles have raised questions<\/strong> about whether he deserves to be one of the game\u2019s highest-paid players when he enters free agency after the season and whether Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts would give him the megadeal he\u2019ll likely be seeking.<\/p>\n

Tucker was a starting National League All-Star outfielder and enters Monday with a 4.3 WAR, eighth among all position players. His .871 OPS is highest on the Cubs and 12th in the majors. It\u2019s no stretch to suggest the Cubs wouldn\u2019t be competing for a division title without him in the lineup.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously you realize you must have your limits,\u201d President Jed Hoyer said in early July. \u201cWe\u2019ll keep all those things internal, but certainly I think Kyle is the kind of player you want to keep. I\u2019ve said that all along.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course. But at what price?<\/p>\n

Tucker has since endured his first prolonged slump in Chicago. He\u2019s hitting .226 with one home run and nine RBIs in 27 games since June 29 with a .365 on-base percentage and a .666 OPS. On Sunday he shocked almost everyone at Wrigley by putting down a sacrifice bunt in the first inning of a 5-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles, his first sacrifice bunt as a Cub.<\/p>\n

Manager Craig Counsell said \u201cTuck had planned that all day,\u201d suggesting he approved of the plan. Suffice to say most modern sluggers don\u2019t give themselves up to advance a baserunner in the first inning.<\/p>\n

Some have pointed to Tucker\u2019s finger injury as a reason for the slump. He jammed his right ring finger on a slide against the Reds on June 1 but missed only a couple of starts. Counsell said Sunday the finger isn\u2019t a problem.<\/p>\n

When I asked whether Tucker perhaps is feeling some pressure in a walk year, as many free agents do, Counsell hedged.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, I don\u2019t think we can do anything about that,\u201d he said. \u201cThose are his realities. Every player kind of has their own realities and pressures they have on them.<\/p>\n

\u201cKyle is going through a baseball season. He spoiled us in the month of April. His numbers are right on his career numbers right now, and coming off a bad streak, that\u2019s where you want it to be, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photos: Chicago Cubs walk off the Baltimore Orioles at Wrigley Field<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Tucker isn\u2019t the only Cubs hitter struggling of late, but he\u2019s the most important one in the lineup and needs a strong finish for the Cubs to go far. Ricketts told Tribune beat writer Meghan Montemurro that re-signing Tucker has been \u201ca theme of the summer for the fans here,\u201d before changing the subject to the four trade-deadline acquisitions.<\/p>\n

If Ricketts believes Cubs fans are satisfied with the deadline acquisitions, he\u2019s deluded. It was the No. 1 topic for fans all weekend at Wrigley. Most blamed Ricketts for failing to put his money where Hoyer\u2019s mouth is, after Hoyer spent weeks talking about getting starting pitching.<\/p>\n

The $22.5 million the Cubs saved by trading Cody Bellinger to the New York Yankees for a reliever who was later released did not get used for deadline moves, as Ricketts suggested it would be at the Cubs Convention. Neither was the money saved by not signing free agent Alex Bregman in spring training.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for Ricketts, Cubs fans don\u2019t forget those kinds of things.<\/p>\n

Which brings us to Soroka,<\/strong> who makes his Cubs debut Monday against the Reds. He was the lone starter Hoyer acquired at the deadline, putting undue pressure on him to perform. Hoyer repeatedly told the media, podcasters and everyone who would listen that he was getting a starter, so fans were looking for a significant upgrade.<\/p>\n

Under Counsell, Soroka likely will be used for five or six innings if he pitches well and basically will serve as a placeholder until Jameson Taillon\u2019s return. Taillon will have at least one or two more rehab outings at Triple-A Iowa, Counsell said.<\/p>\n

Soroka is a combined 3-18 with a 4.81 ERA the last two seasons with the White Sox and Nationals, two horrible teams. No, he\u2019s not Joe Ryan or MacKenzie Gore or any other frontline starter Cubs fans were clamoring for at the deadline.<\/p>\n

\"Column:
Michael Soroka of the Nationals pitches against the Reds on July 23, 2025, in Washington. (Jess Rapfogel\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But he doesn\u2019t have to be any of those pitchers to succeed. He just has to be a reasonable facsimile of the Soroka who made a splash as a rookie with the Atlanta Braves in 2019 before injuries sidelined him for two-plus years and turned him into a journeyman.<\/p>\n

Last year Soroka went 0-10 on the 121-loss White Sox team, the worst team in modern history, and was demoted to the minors for a brief stretch as he made the transition to the bullpen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s obviously not the way you write it up, it\u2019s not the way you think things will happen,\u201d Soroka said of his stint on the South Side. \u201cBut having gone through those difficulties last year, personally and as a team, it\u2019s (provided) perspective moving forward. There are lots of ways to have success in this game, and it\u2019s about finding which way works for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now he\u2019s expected to help the team on the other side of town get to the postseason. Soroka has pitched in big games for the Braves. He was an All-Star in 2019, and in his lone postseason start he allowed one run on two hits in seven innings against the St. Louis Cardinals.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s gone through this before,\u201d Counsell said, \u201cso no worries about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Good to know, since Cubs fans aren\u2019t the worrying types. (Face palm emoji.)<\/p>\n

A crowd of 39,430 turned out Sunday<\/strong> for Greg Maddux 1988 Rain Delay Bobblehead day, which commemorated Maddux\u2019s tarp slide during the first scheduled night game at Wrigley on Aug. 8, 1988.<\/p>\n

It was a coveted bobblehead, despite not resembling Maddux, because of the famous episode and the fact he\u2019s a beloved ex-Cub and Hall of Famer. But the Cubs dropped the ball by not explaining the whole story on the Marquee Sports Network telecast.<\/p>\n

Thirteen fans jumped the walls at Wrigley that night during the rain delay and went sliding on the rain-covered tarp. A similar scene in the hit baseball movie \u201cBull Durham\u201d had made it a popular pastime in 1988, when security was more lax.<\/p>\n

Several fans were arrested for trespassing, and others were removed from the ballpark. But Maddux and three teammates \u2014 Jody Davis, Les Lancaster and Al Nipper \u2014 got off scot-free for their tarp-sliding antics, until general manager Jim Frey fined them each $500.<\/p>\n

\"Column:
Jody Davis, foreground, and Cubs teammate Les Lancaster take advantage of a rain delay to slide on the tarp Aug. 8, 1988, at Wrigley Field. (Ovie Carter\/Chicago Tribune)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got the league president here, you\u2019ve got the commissioner here, you\u2019ve got a full house where things are happening,\u201d manager Don Zimmer said a couple days later. \u201cIf it would\u2019ve happened five days from now, it probably wouldn\u2019t have been a big thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the whole thing is, if they were handcuffing people for doing it, and then four of my players go out there, what would prevent 100 (fans) from going out there? It could cause a hell of a problem, no doubt about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Cubs released Nipper the next spring, he claimed the tarp incident led to the decision and also was the reason behind trading Davis to the Braves a month after the incident and demoting Lancaster to the minors.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot at all,\u201d Frey responded. \u201cMaddux was there. We\u2019re not getting rid of Maddux.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, Maddux left as a free agent after the 1992 season and spent his prime with the Braves before returning in 2004. But 37 years after the tarp incident, the Cubs finally found a way to monetize it.<\/p>\n

Maybe they should rescind those fines and refund Maddux and his three former teammates with the revenues from Sunday\u2019s sellout.<\/p>\n

Originally Published:

Chicago Cubs right fielder Kyle Tucker\u2019s recent struggles have raised questions about whether he deserves to be one of the game\u2019s highest-paid players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":73644,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[282,823,2819,74,317,1964,1278],"class_list":["post-73643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-craig-counsell","tag-don-zimmer","tag-greg-maddux","tag-kyle-tucker","tag-michael-soroka","tag-tom-ricketts"],"yoast_head":"\nColumn: All eyes on Kyle Tucker and Michael Soroka as Chicago Cubs open home series vs. Cincinnati Reds - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=73643\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Column: All eyes on Kyle Tucker and Michael Soroka as Chicago Cubs open home series vs. Cincinnati Reds - 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