Hey, remember when the Cubs didn't place Kyle Tucker on the injured list after he missed an entire series, then finally did it, so it meant he was going to miss more time than if they had just placed him on the IL right away? Well, it turns out that maybe Tucker was going to miss a lot more time anyway.
The Cubs officially put Tucker on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Sept. 6, on Tuesday, ahead of the team's second game against the Atlanta Braves. With the retroactive date Tucker would be eligible to return to the active roster by next Tuesday, Sept. 16, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, it doesn't sound like Tucker will be back any time soon and at this point it's probably best not to rush the All-Star outfielder back.
Via Elise Menaker.
Kyle Tucker has been doing activity (biking, hitting, throwing). He feels symptoms when running, so Counsell said they want a weekend of no symptoms before he gets back into running. It is unlikely he'll be activated Tuesday.
Tucker was on fire prior to this stint on the injured list. The left-handed hitter was 16-for-40, with four home runs and four doubles in his last 11 games before leaving in the seventh inning of Chicago's Sept. 2, game at Wrigley Field against the Braves.
In 2024, Tucker missed three months because of a fracture in his right shin that resulted from a foul ball. He returned in early September and proceeded to end the year a 1.041 OPS in 18 games.
The Cubs end the regular season on Sept. 28. So, let's say Tucker misses next week's series in Pittsburgh, the optimistic timeline for his return could be on Friday Sept. 19, against the Cincinnati Reds, giving Tucker 10 games to get back into rhythm before the playoffs begin.
(Previous Update)
It's been exactly one week since Kyle Tucker last played and the Chicago Cubs finally placed him on the 10-day injured list. Not exactly sure why the team delayed their decision until now when it he wasn't making much progress through the weekend. Anyway, Tucker is on the injured list retroactive to Sept. 6.
Meanwhile, the team has called up Moises Ballesteros from Triple-A to take Tucker's spot on the active roster. This is now the third time Ballesteros has been promoted to the big-league roster in 2025.
Ballesteros, 21, has continued his excellent hitting with the Iowa Cubs this year as he's recorded a slash line of .316/.385/.473, with 13 home runs in 509 plate appearances. In his brief playing time in the majors this year Ballesteros is 4-for-18, with six RBI and three runs scored.
(Previous Update)
Kyle Tucker last played against the Atlanta Braves on Sept. 2, and in the least shocking development coming from the Chicago Cubs the team appears to have screwed the pooch again. Mismanaging an injured player? Yup, we're talking about the Cubs.
Tucker exited last Tuesday's game prior to the seventh inning because of calf tightness. After that game Craig Counsell said Tucker wouldn't play the next game, hoping that two days of rest (Thursday was an off day) would give the right fielder enough time to recover. Tucker was absent from the starting lineup on Friday. Then, he wasn't in there again on Saturday, but surely he'd be playing Sunday? Nope.
During that entire time it made sense to put Tucker on the injured list, call up a player from Triple-A and move on. But no, it can't ever be that easy. The Cubs are now set to begin a three-game series against the Braves in Atlanta on Monday and Tucker still isn't ready to play.
📍: Atlanta
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 8, 2025
Watch tonight's game on the Marquee Sports Network App. pic.twitter.com/OnRcUDVrK6
Apparently Moises Ballesteros was in Atlanta on Sunday night, so maybe now the Cubs will place Tucker on the injured list?
Moises Ballesteros in Atlanta according to his Instagram. Kyle Tucker to the IL? #Cubs pic.twitter.com/FYDsSyNz2k
— Crawly's Cubs Kingdom (@crawlyscubs) September 8, 2025
Monday night's game is only a few hours away and the team still hasn't made an announcement on it, so it looks like they're delaying that decision even more. Good job, Cubs.
