Cubs Manager Craig Counsell Sends Strong Message on Replacing Kyle Tucker

When free agent Kyle Tucker’s next team is brought up, the Chicago Cubs aren’t even named in published reports.

So it should not come as a surprise that Cubs manager Craig Counsell effectively confirmed what fans suspected all along, that Tucker would not be returning to Wrigley Field in 2026.

Counsell offered an inside look into the Cubs current conundrum and assuaged many of the fans’ biggest fears. The Cubs have a plan to replace the All-Star and Silver Slugger, according to their manager.

The Cubs acquired Tucker from the Houston Astros for Isaac Paredes, Cam Smith and Hayden Wesneski on Dec. 13, 2024. The five-tool outfielder, who was a lame duck contract-wise, slashed .266/.377/.464 with 22 home runs and 73 RBIs in 136 games for the Cubs in his lone season in Chicago.

Craig Counsell: The Cubs ‘Loss Right Now Is’ Kyle Tucker

Cubs fans were probably wondering when or if they were going to get in the mix to re-sign the outfielder. Yet, Counsell offered them a clear answer.

“From a position player standpoint, the loss right now is Tucker obviously,” Counsell said, according to The Athletic. “The rest of the group is back and likely with us.”

Obviously losing Tucker for nothing, a year after trading Cody Bellinger to the New York Yankees for Cody Poteet who never pitched for the team, is frustrating for Cubs fans.

It also must be maddening that the Cubs parted with Paredes, who was an All-Star for Houston, plus Smith, who had nine homers, for one year of Tucker — and it wasn’t even a particularly good season for him.

Still, Counsell was behind Cubs management’s decision to pass on bringing Tucker back, if it meant loading up on depth.

“You’re just trying to fortify the roster as a whole,” Counsell said. “You can think about it in different ways. But I think more depth from a position player standpoint would be helpful, absolutely. I do think we were extremely healthy there last year, so more depth there is important.”

The Cubs Expect To Use In-House Players To Replace Kyle Tucker

The Cubs still won 92 games and reached the National League Division Series despite Tucker posting fewer home runs in 136 games (22) than he did in 78 games in Houston in 2024 (23).

Still, Tucker posted a 4.6 bWAR, tied with first baseman Michael Busch for the third-best mark on the Cubs roster in 2025. That means they would’ve been an 87-win team without him and could have lost in the NL Wild Card Series.

Still, for Cubs fans looking for the team to make a move to replace Tucker, that may be coming from inside the organization. Chicago is hoping 23-year-old Owen Cassie or 22-year-old Moisés Ballesteros, the team’s Nos. 1 and 2 prospects respectively, will fill Tucker’s shoes.

“We have young players that did contribute in a big way,” Counsell said. “I thought Moisés gave us the offensive production of Tucker essentially in the month of September. Between him and Owen, who was unfortunately hurt for most of that month, those are two important players as we sit right now.”

Cassie only got 27 plate appearances in 12 games and had an OPS of .568. Ballesteros had more of a sample, finishing with an OPS+ of 151 and two homers in 66 plate appearances over 20 games.

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