The Cubs kept the results of an imaging test quiet while Counsell and President Jed Hoyer repeatedly insisted Tucker was fine the last two months, before Counsell finally confirmed an ESPN report on the small fracture after Wednesday night’s game.
Tucker said he was OK playing through some pain, though that decision looked bad when his slump, combined with the poor stretches of several teammates, contributed to the Cubs’ free fall from first place to wild-card contenders.
“I was just like, ‘I’m going to keep playing,’” he said before the game. “There wasn’t really a need to go on an IL, because I could still do everything. It was more like a pain tolerance at that point rather than like I physically couldn’t do anything.”
Tucker is headed toward free agency and projected as the top available hitter. Missing time could’ve cost him on the market, where he stands to make $400 million or more. But he kept playing until Counsell finally benched him after Monday’s game for a mental reset.
Why the deception?
Counsell said many player injuries are not disclosed when that player is still good enough to play. He didn’t feel the Cubs misled the media “because (Tucker) was playing” and hitting well for a while.