It turns out Kyle Tucker’s benching was injury-related after all.
Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell unveiled the fact the Cubs outfielder has been dealing with a small fracture in his hand that has been affecting his ability amid his horrible recent slump.
The Cubs made waves this week when they announced Tucker would sit while failing to hit a home run in more than a month.
Yet, after Chicago’s 4-3 win over the first-place Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday, Counsell revealed Tucker was not being benched but that he had been playing through the injury.
What Is Kyle Tucker’s Injury?
Tucker, who the Cubs of course acquired from the Houston Astros for three players including 2025 All-Star Isaac Paredes, played like the impact player Chicago thought it was getting for the first half.
He also qualified for the All-Star Game and had an OPS of .882 in the first half.
But Tucker has fallen off a cliff in the second half, with an OPS of .572, which is a marquee part of why the Cubs are just 14-15 in their past 29 games, falling behind the Brewers in second place in the NL Central.
It turns out, Tucker’s slump is not that, but a hairline fracture in his hand that he sustained in early June while sliding into second base against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field. Counsell announced Tucker’s initial imaging did not show the fracture, and Tucker continued to play through the injury.
“Initial X-rays were negative,” Counsell said. “He sat out a day, I think we had an off day, [then he] sat out a day, pinch-hit the next day and then he was kind of sore but good to go.
“He was sore for a little while but was able to play. We did some more imaging and it showed a small fracture that was healing, and that’s it.”
Though Tucker mashed in June — he had a .982 OPS with five home runs, 18 runs scored and 13 RBIs — Counsell felt Tucker developed some bad habits while trying to mitigate the injury.
“Is it possible, that the playing through [the injury] changed some things, yeah. Absolutely,” Counsell said. “I think it’s probably likely that that happened, but he wanted to play.”
Tucker, speaking Thursday, pushed back on that.
“I don’t know how much it really affected my setup and swing and everything,” Tucker said. “I didn’t feel great at the time. I just dealt with it, and you make adjustments and go out and play.
“I’m sure other people have some things going on too they play with and make the adjustment with.”
Is Kyle Tucker Playing For The Cubs Today?
Tucker was back in the Chicago lineup, hitting in his customary No. 2 hole for Thursday’s getaway-day series finale against the Brewers.
Tucker missed the previous three games, including both halves of Wednesday’s doubleheader. Chicago entered play Thursday with three straight wins against the previously white-hot Brewers and narrowing their division lead to six games with 35 games to play.
But even though they have retaken command of their playoff spot — Chicago is 6.5 games up on the Reds, who are the first team out of the NL playoffs — the Cubs could use a healthy Tucker if they wan to get back to the World Series for the first time since winning it all in 2016.
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