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The Chicago Cubs took a big and somewhat risky swing this past winter and it has paid off.
The team decided to deal Cody Bellinger to the New York Yankees and bring in Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros as a replacement, trading away players with several years of control ahead on their contracts for the pending free agent.
Heading into the All-Star break, the Cubs sit in first place in the National League Central division and the decision to trade for Tucker is driving optimism that they can end their playoff drought. But given the strong results in Tucker’s debut with the Cubs, it seems the franchise will have little choice but to try and re-sign him to a long-term contract after this season.
“In giving up 14 potential years of club control over those players (traded for Tucker), the Cubs got one season to maximize Tucker’s talents and make their pitch,” Patrick Mooney wrote for The Athletic. “For both sides, it probably makes the most business sense to see what the market will bear for an elite player who will be 29 years old next year.”
With signs pointing to free agency for Tucker, the Cubs can hope that his individual success and a deep playoff run give them an edge in upcoming negotiations with the outfielder, who will surely garner interest from other big-market teams. But when asked if anything has changed about his thinking on free agency since joining the Cubs, Tucker offered a two-word response that suggested things haven’t changed in his mind.
“Not really,” Tucker told Mooney.
“I don’t necessarily worry about it too much,” Tucker added, per Mooney. “If something happens, something happens. The only thing I can really control is just going out there and doing the best I can, putting up numbers and trying to help us win games.”
As the best Tucker can do on the field continues to drive him to the top of the upcoming free agent class, Cubs fans might be disappointed to learn that he hasn’t had a change of heart on testing the market since being traded to the team. But given the early returns on the Cubs’ bold offseason move to acquire him, a long-term deal could still be ahead.
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