The Chicago Cubs traded for outfielder Kyle Tucker ahead of the 2025 MLB season in a trade that gave the team National League contention hopes.

Tucker put up an impressive season, hitting .266/.377/.464 with 22 home runs and 73 RBIs. His season was valued at 4.6 bWAR, marking his fifth consecutive season of reaching at least 4.5 bWAR in a season.

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He has made four straight All-Star teams, captured two Silver Slugger Awards, and won a World Series title, all before reaching the age of 29.

Teams will be lining up to sign him, though few will be able to afford his services.

Kyle Tucker

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, one of those teams is the Chicago Cubs, who are poised to get priced out of keeping him.

“One team not expected to meet Tucker’s expected contract price: the Chicago Cubs, who traded third baseman Isaac Paredes and right fielder Cam Smith to Houston to rent Tucker in his final season before free agency and will reap a draft pick around No. 75 if he signs elsewhere,” Passan wrote in his story.

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The Cubs have a good deal of needs in their pitching staff. Both the starting rotation and the bullpen carry weaknesses, and the front office will be looking to improve those areas of the roster.

Considering how much the team is already spending, it will be hard to get those pitching upgrades through the door while also keeping Tucker.

Chicago is not known for giving players long-term, big-money contracts, especially ones that could last around 10 years and cost $400 million.

The New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, and Los Angeles Dodgers are all potential suitors and are much more likely to pay his sticker price.

If Tucker struggles to find the money he wants, he could come back — though in the current market it looks like he has played his last game for the Chicago-based team.

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