Craig Counsell says the quiet part out loud in his latest Kyle Tucker update

As we waited for Sunday's series finale between the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds to get underway, with rain delaying the start time, manager Craig Counsell spoke with the media and offered a new update on injured outfielder Kyle Tucker.

There was nothing concrete in his brief comments, but he did acknowledge what we all know: the clock is ticking and time is running out for the four-time All-Star to return and be ready for the start of the Wild Card Series, slated to kick off a week from Monday against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.

Tucker hasn't played in a game since Sept. 2 due to a lingering calf injury. The Cubs waited to place him on the IL, but even since then, he's shown no signs of progressing and, last we heard, was still unable to run without pain.

Cubs may live life without Kyle Tucker even sooner than expected

We've known since last December that, in all likelihood, this was a one-and-done for Tucker on the North Side. But nobody expected that one season to be injury-shortened and most of us assumed that if the Cubs were playing in October, a high-performing Tucker would likely be a huge part of the lineup.

And, for much of the season, he was. Through the end of July, he carried a .276 .391 .488 slash line to go along with 18 homers, 21 doubles and 61 runs batted in. But since the calendar turned to August, Tucker has appeared in only 27 games, slashing .245/.339/.408 - including a brutal multi-week stretch to open August where he put up a sub-.400 OPS while playing through a finger injury.

The Cubs' offense has done enough to help the team punch a postseason ticket for the first time since 2020, but it's been a tale of two halves. Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki have joined Tucker in his second-half struggles and that trio failing to replicate its early-season production has more than a few folks anxious with one week left to play.

Chicago is at its best when Tucker is healthy and making everyone around him in the lineup better. Now, though, we're facing a very real possibility that we may not see the best version of the 2025 Cubs when it matters most and a shot at a World Series is on the line.