The Chicago Cubs have officially extended the qualifying offer to free agent outfielder Kyle Tucker as expected. Tucker, 28, is viewed as the No. 1 player in this year’s free agent class and at this point of the offseason experts believe he’ll be moving on to another team after his one-year stint with the Cubs.
Tucker will reject the qualifying offer, which is worth $22.05 million if any of the 13 players accept the one-year deal for the 2026 season. The Cubs also extended the QO to starting pitcher Shōta Imanaga.
If Tucker does indeed sign a free agent deal elsewhere this offseason, then the Cubs will receive a comp pick following the second round of the 2026 MLB Draft.
Beginning of the End for Tucker and the Cubs?
The Chicago Cubs tried their hardest not to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates this past weekend, but they managed to squeak out a series win after taking the finale 4-3 on Sunday. It was still another painful showing from the offense as the top of the lineup went hitless in 10 at-bats. Kyle Tucker doesn’t seem close to breaking out of his slump and he definitely didn’t help his case with fans after not running out a ground ball in the sixth inning. It was a brutal look and while I normally don’t get behind fans booing their own players, this one was probably just the culmination of watching Tucker not perform for the past few months.
The thing that really sucks is that Tucker is most likely playing through a finger injury. There’s really no other explanation because Tucker has gone from a top-10 hitter to bad over night. Beginning on July 20, Tucker is slashing .179/.340/.205, with no home runs in 98 plate appearances. You can go further back to June 29, and in Tucker’s last 38 games he’s hit only one home run, while recording a .581 OPS.
The lack of production has obviously hurt the middle of the lineup and Tucker’s frustration has been more evident than it ever has in his entire career.
On Sunday, Tucker grounded out to first base to start the sixth inning and although there wasn’t much reason for him sprint down the line fans didn’t approve of Tucker’s effort. Cubs fans booed as Tucker walked back to the dugout.
So far in August, Tucker is slashing .160/.250/.160, with 14 strikeouts, while going 8-for-50, at the plate.
Following another lack luster performance against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday, Tucker was officially benched for a couple days. More of a mental reset, but it’s tough to watch it get to this extreme for the All-Star outfielder.
