The Chicago Cubs made perhaps the biggest trade of the offseason, acquiring Kyle Tucker in a blockbuster deal with the Houston Astros. Cubs fans were elated that Jed Hoyer had acquired a superstar, but also had reasons to be concerned, given what they sent to Houston and the fact that Tucker was entering his final year of club control.
It’s safe to say that one month into his Cubs tenure, Tucker has been everything Chicago fans could’ve hoped for and more. The team is an NL Central-leading 17-11 thanks in large part to his electric start.
Cubs fans have quickly fallen in love with Tucker and hope to see him in Chicago long-term, but the organization’s past failure with a different superstar outfielder, Bryce Harper, gives the fans reason to be concerned.
Cubs fans hope Chicago has learned from Bryce Harper mistake
Prior to his free agency in the 2018 offseason, Harper, one of the game’s best players at the time, was hoping to sign with the Cubs as he revealed to Matt Gelb of The Athletic ($).
“Going into that offseason, they were the No. 1 team on my list,” Harper told The Athletic before the start of this weekend’s Cubs-Phillies series at Wrigley Field. “Without a doubt.”
Unfortunately, not only did the Cubs fail to sign him, they didn’t even make Harper an offer. Eventually, Harper wound up inking a 13-year, $330 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, which included no opt-outs and a full no-trade clause.
Harper has yet to win a World Series in Philadelphia, but has had many memorable postseason moments and has been one of the best players in the sport since signing the deal. He even won the NL MVP award back in 2021.
In hindsight, the Cubs not even trying to sign Harper, a player who badly wanted to be a Cub, was a massive mistake. Sure, he might not be a star in year 13 of the deal, but the contract itself looks incredibly team-friendly. Harper is making an average of $25.3 million annually, which is essentially the same AAV as Dansby Swanson.
Tucker is going to make an enormous amount of money on the open market this upcoming offseason, especially if he continues putting up MVP-caliber numbers, but the Cubs, a big market team that makes a boatload of money, are one of the few teams that can actually afford to pay him whatever he wants.
Will owner Tom Ricketts be willing to spend what it’ll take, though? Cubs fans hope so, given what the team gave up for just one year of Tucker and given how outstanding of a player he is, but given Ricketts’ history, why should anyone believe he’ll pony up? The biggest deal in Cubs history is the eight-year, $164 million pact Jayson Heyward signed ahead of the 2016 campaign. Tucker could easily end up making three times that amount. The Cubs didn’t even negotiate with an MVP-caliber player in Harper on a deal that will likely be substantially less expensive than what Tucker will make.
Tucker should be a Cub for the remainder of his career. That’s what Cubs fans want to see, but with the Harper wound still incredibly fresh, Cubs fans probably won’t believe it’ll happen until they see pen being put to paper.
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