An insider confirms Kyle Tucker's potential record-breaking contract and his likely departure from the Cubs. The star outfielder faces a crucial free agency decision.
All baseball fans want to know where Kyle Tucker will be playing in 2026 and beyond.
He played out the final year of his contract with the Chicago Cubs and will now enter the offseason as the No. 1 free agent on most teams’ big boards. That’s enough to earn him a massive contract this winter.
Teams around the league know how good Tucker can be when he’s at the top of his game. Back in 2023, the All-Star outfielder hit 29 home runs, drove in 112 runs, and stole 30 bases en route to a top-5 finish in the American League MVP voting.
However, injuries have held back Tucker over the past two years. He only played in 78 games during the 2024 season due to a shin fracture, and then dealt with multiple injuries across the 2025 campaign with the Cubs.
Those recent injuries could hurt the contract that teams are willing to offer him this offseason.
“Tucker is one of the most selective hitters in baseball,” a scout from the NL Central told insider Bruce Levine in his recent article on Marquee Sports Network. “His ability to walk as much — or more — than striking out should not be overlooked. Still, his overall year was not quite up to his seasons before 2024. I think he is still going to be an impact player going forward, but clubs will look at his injuries the past two seasons and weigh that against the years and money that they offer him.”
Levine has been around the game of baseball for multiple decades and no doubt has a ton of sources. In a Marquee Sports Network article published on Monday morning, Levine went on to write that Tucker will not return to the Cubs if his contract is around what Jim Bowden of The Athletic predicts.
Bowden went through the top-50 free agents this offseason and predicted what all 50 of those players will sign for this winter. He predicted a 10-year, $427 million deal for Tucker.
That’s not a contract the Cubs would likely be willing to give out to Tucker, and Levine basically confirms that in that article.
It’ll be interesting to see where Tucker winds up signing this winter. The Cubs will probably be in on him in some aspect, but there is no way the front office will be willing to dish out all that money to a player who didn’t show up in the second half of the season.