When the Chicago Cubs completed a blockbuster trade to acquire Kyle Tucker before the 2025 season, the assumption held they would look to sign him to a new contract beyond the one-year deal that was agreed to in order to avoid arbirtration.
But that scenario never unfolded and Tucker wound up joining the Dodgers on a record-setting four-year, $240 million contract. The Cubs weren’t significantly involved for the four-time All-Star and certainly didn’t place among his finalists.
Now Tucker is poised to play against his former teammates for the first time since his free agency decision.
“Yeah,” answered Tucker when asked by Kirsten Watson if he was looking forward to this weekend’s series. “I was watching their game earlier today before our game started. They’ve been playing well lately, so it’ll be a good series.
“Hopefully we can get a couple wins out of that and continue playing good ball.”
The Dodgers head into their homestand after a disappointing 3-4 record on the road trip. The Cubs are arriving at Dodger Stadium in the midst of a season-best nine-game winning streak. That’s helped Chicago overcome a middling start to the year and has them tied with the Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees for the fourth-best record in baseball at 16-9.
Although Tucker wound up spending just one season with the Cubs, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer recently spoke fondly of his time in the Windy City and wished him well.
Tucker batted .280/.384/.499 with 19 doubles, four triples, 17 home runs and 56 RBI over his first 95 games with the Cubs last year. However, Tucker’s production dropped in the second half as he recorded only 11 extra-base hits with a .738 on-base plus slugging. That was partly attributed to dealing with a right hand fracture and left calf strain during the final few months.
Kyle Tucker moved in Dodgers lineup
Tucker has gotten off to a sluggish start with the Dodgers and it prompted manager Dave Roberts to drop him from hitting second in the lineup to the cleanup spot. Roberts said the change is going to remain in effect for the “foreseeable future.”
There were immediate dividends as Tucker went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the Dodgers’ 3-0 win over the San Francisco Giants.
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