A New Cubs Obsession Now Has a Chance of Happening

Whenever you look at star players that you desperately want to trade for the biggest hurdle is that player actually being available. Sorry, you're not playing MLB The Show, you can't turn on force trades. Yes, it's fun to speculate what it would take to get a certain guy, for example Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but the Toronto Blue Jays have made it clear so far that they have no interest in trading him. However, there's a new Cubs obsession that now has a chance of happening.

The Cubs need a star hitter, a legit 30+ home run slugger, a 5 WAR player and those don't often come available, but when they do you'd hope this front office would explore the opportunity. Well, I guess every player that fits into the team's budget because as we just saw the Cubs never even looked at Juan Soto in free agency.

Anyway, maybe this remains a pipe dream just because we have not seen Jed Hoyer make that huge blockbuster move, but Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker is very much available via trade and I really want the Cubs to do as much as possible to acquire the 27-year-old.

Speaking at the Winter Meetings on Monday, Astros' GM Dana Brown did not shut down trade rumors when asked about two upcoming free agents for Houston.

Some thoughts from GM Dana Brown from his suite in Dallas, including being open to trading Tucker and/or Valdez.

Brown said earlier nothing is the off the tables pic.twitter.com/V9Sh909sQN

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) December 9, 2024

Now, that wasn't Brown outwardly saying that the Astors are actively shopping either player, but it's still worth noting that Houston is open to the possibility. Sure, the Cubs are seeking another starting pitcher and I guess Framber Valdez could make sense, but I'm focused on the star bat. I want Kyle Tucker.

The left-handed hitter played his first full length season in the big leagues in 2021. Since then, Tucker ranks 10th among all MLB hitters with a 145 wRC+. That's also fifth best among right fielders. He's been worth 19.1 fWAR in the past four seasons.

Tucker was limited to 78 games in 2024 and that might cause some pause, but it was a shin fracture, which he did recover from fully and once he came back in September, Tucker posted a 1.041 OPS in 18 games. He ended the 2024 season with 23 home runs and was worth 4.2 fWAR. Let's compare those numbers to the 2024 Cubs.

Dansby Swanson led the 2024 Cubs with a 4..3 fWAR. He played in 149 games.

Kyle Tucker played in 78 games in 2024 and had a 4.2 fWAR. He hit 23 HR in 339 plate appearances.

Ian Happ led the 2024 Cubs with 25 HR in 657 plate appearances.

— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) December 10, 2024

Tucker is a 3x All-Star, 2022 Gold Glove winner, 2023 Silver Slugger Winner, a 3x All-MLB Second Team player and has an .888 OPS since during the past four seasons.

The Cubs have the assets to trade for Tucker, but obviously the big issue is that you don't want to have a Juan Soto 2.0 that the New York Yankees just went through. The Yankees traded a lot of talent for Soto and maybe it would have been worth it if they had won the 2024 World Series. They didn't and then they saw the New York Mets out-bid them for the star outfielder.

If you're the Cubs, a Cubs fan, you want Tucker and more importantly you want the team to sign him to a contract extension. Of course, that's where serious doubts begin to creep in. As we know, the Cubs still have not topped Jason Heyward's $184 million contract that was signed nearly a decade ago. Dansby Swanson's seven-year, $177 million is the only one that's come close.

Tucker will be 28-years-old when and if he hits free agency next offseason.

Since becoming an every-day starter for the Astros in 2020, only three other outfielders have been more valuable than Tucker: Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Mookie Betts. How about it, Cubs? How about taking a big swing for once. Get us Kyle Tucker now that he's actually a trade candidate.