The Athletic has live coverage of the Cubs vs. Brewers from Game 5 of the 2025 National League Division Series.
CHICAGO — Wrigley Field’s “Kyle Tucker Era” will be extended for at least one more October night. How this period will be remembered depends on how the Cubs perform in another postseason game and whether their most accomplished hitter will deliver the defining postseason moments that leave fans wanting more.
A crowd of 40,737 gathered joyfully after the Cubs held on for Wednesday night’s 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, keeping them alive in this best-of-five National League division series. When Tucker gets on base three times and scores a run to take an early lead, the offense is operating at a higher level and the bullpen is used to maximum effect.
The Cubs have used that winning formula early and often this season, riding the momentum of a fast start to their first playoff appearance since 2020. That loud, electric scene likely won’t happen without Tucker’s arrival. Now down 2-1, no one knows if Thursday will be his last game in a Cubs uniform.
Inside the Wrigley Field offices, club officials never want to rule anything out, always preferring to wait until the last minute before making a big decision. Two months before Major League Baseball’s winter meetings, it wouldn’t make sense for an All-Star outfielder and his powerful agency to eliminate any major-market franchise.
Still, it’s not hard to see what the trend is. You no longer hear the clamor for the Cubs to re-sign Tucker, whose injury problems factored into a mediocre second half and forced him to play exclusively at designated hitter, thus far, in the postseason.
If Tucker, who turns 29 next season, ends up considering short-term deals with more flexibility, his first choice for a platform year probably wouldn’t be Wrigley Field, an iconic venue that ESPN just described as “a hitter’s worst nightmare.”
Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement, which expires after the 2026 season, could further complicate the situation.
Since the Cubs executed a blockbuster trade with the Houston Astros last offseason, the most likely outcome was Tucker exploring his options as a free agent. In light of two historic deals, Tucker would be prompted to see what else is out there.
Shortly before the Cubs finalized the Tucker deal, Juan Soto agreed to a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets. Even if Tucker didn’t encounter the perfect storm that led to Soto’s record deal, he could potentially come close to matching Soto’s production as a left-handed hitter while adding Gold Glove defense in right field, as well as the ability to steal 30 bases.
Tucker’s ability to hit for power and average, along with his defense and speed, help make him a unique player in today’s game. (Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
Shortly after Opening Day, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. signed a 14-year, $500 million contract extension with the Toronto Blue Jays. Just like that, Guerrero opted out of the next free agent class, seemingly leaving Tucker as the obvious No. 1 hitter available.
In assessing potential ripple effects in April, an agent who does not represent Guerrero or Tucker said Athletics: “I don’t think Tucker will get the money that Vlad got, but I think he’s a better hitter than Vlad. I think Kyle Tucker is the best hitter in the game right now.”
Right now, though, Tucker is more of a complementary piece. Currently, Cubs manager Craig Counsell said, “the way they run the game, you can tell that first baseman Michael Busch is ‘the guy in the lineup that everyone thinks of.’
While his teammates have often credited Tucker for helping create roster synergy and chemistry in the club, it may be difficult for others to read a reserved personality with a dry sense of humor who spent his entire professional career in the Houston organization before being traded to Chicago.
It can also sometimes be difficult to tell what Cubs executives Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins really want in a free agent, because much of their evaluation process is based on what the rest of the baseball industry is willing to pay for those skills and whether their model projections can identify a market inefficiency.
Here’s another result: In what looked like a make-or-break playoff year for the front office, and at a time when Wrigleyville’s business model seemed to be collapsing, Tucker transformed what had been an 83-win team into an October force.
“He could have been the National League MVP after the first two months of the season,” Hoyer said in late September. “When we get to this last weekend of the regular season, there are times when I look back at the things I faced in April, and I feel like it happened to a different person – it was so long ago.
“I was thinking of spending the weekend talking about Justin Steele and the possibility of surgery, and I literally feel like it was two years ago and it was the regular season. The reason I say that is because you get to this point because of everything that’s going on.
“I don’t think we can ignore how good our offense was, how big of a role (Tucker) played in it this season. The first two months of the season were when we got well away from .500 and kind of established ourselves as a playoff team. His impact on this season is pretty incredible, even though a lot of his production, to this point, was several months ago.”
Ultimately, years and money determine free agent decisions. But for some hitters, the offensive climate at Wrigley Field may become a real factor to consider.
Longtime baseball super agent Scott Boras alluded to a perception problem in a conversation last September, when high-profile clients such as Juan Soto, Alex Bregman and Pete Alonso approached free agency. Another Boras client, Cody Bellinger, was nearing the end of his sophomore season in Chicago, which didn’t produce as much buzz as his MVP-level 2023 campaign.
“Wrigley Field is inexplicable,” Boras said then. “The Farmer’s Almanac applies to Wrigley Field. It didn’t rain, the crop didn’t grow. Wrigley Field had the most unusual season. It was an offensive (drought).”
Tucker, who is represented by Excel Sports Management, did not use his injuries as an excuse or blame Wrigley Field, which over the past three seasons ranks among the worst offensive environments in the majors, better than Seattle’s T-Mobile Park.
“It doesn’t matter,” Tucker said, “the other team is also playing with the same factors, so you just have to go out there and try to square the ball and hit it over the barrel. You try to get some runs or get on base. Some days it’s a little easier than others. But both teams are still playing with it, so you just have to go out there and do your best with it.”
It was 61 degrees for Wednesday’s first pitch at 4:08 p.m. Tucker tried to draw a bunt in his first at-bat, then beat Brewers starter Quinn Priester, who couldn’t finish the first inning as the Cubs quickly scored four runs, regaining some momentum in a playoff series that’s not yet over.
“The fans come out to support us all year long,” Tucker said. “That’s what they want. That’s what we want. We’re trying to do the best we can for them and for the city.”
